Sudanese president visits South Korea to enhance bilateral ties

May 25, 2008 (KHARTOUM) — Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir arrived to the Korean capital, Seoul, on Sunday in a two day visit where he will hold talks with Korean President Lee Myung-bak on enhancing bilateral ties.

The Lee-al-Bashir meeting will take place Monday afternoon at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, followed by a dinner meeting in the evening.

The two presidents are expected to hold a press conference to speak to the media about the out come of the bilateral summit, on Tuesday.

The press conference will likely focus both on ways to promote bilateral ties between the sides and security and humanitarian concerns in Sudan.

In a meeting with the Sudanese expatriates in South Korea, President al-Bashir affirmed the determination of his government in implementing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and pointed out that the government has made great strides in the application adding that it has left little obstacles can be resolved and will never allow the collapse of the agreement.

He also briefed the community about the ongoing efforts to resolve Darfur crisis

South Korea is considering sending troops to Sudan under the umbrella of United Nations peacekeeping forces to bring calm to the western region of Darfur, which has been suffering from a civil war that has caused more than 200,000 deaths since 2003.
Al-Bashir will leave for Tokyo later Tuesday.

Al-Bashir is the first Sudanese president to visit Seoul since 1983 when then Sudanese President Jafar Numairy came here.

(ST)