US special envoy for Sudan arrives in Ethiopia Friday

By Tesfa Alem Tekle

May 6, 2010 (ADDIS ABABA) — U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan Scott Gration will be paying a visit this week to the Ethiopian capital where he will attend a meeting organized by the African Union on Sudan’s future.

Currently, Gratian is in Sudan as part of his one week-long visit to the two east African countries. In Sudan he visited Khartoum, Juba, and El-Fasher (Darfur); to pursue efforts to stabilize both southern and western parts of the country.

Gration will leave Friday for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to participate in African Union meetings on the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace agreement and ongoing efforts in Doha to resolve Darfur conflict.

The talks in Addis Ababa, will touch on “regional strategies and international coordination in support of CPA implementation and the Darfur peace process,” the State Department said yesterday..

During a visit on Thursday to the hybrid peacekeeping mission in the capital of North Darfur, El-Fasher, the US special envoy for Sudan discussed ways to conjugate efforts by Sudanese authorities, UNAMID, and aid agencies “to secure peace and stability in the region”, the UNAMID said.

The meeting also discussed programmes that promote reconciliation, recovery and development, as well as the challenges of their implementation.

He also met aid groups and visited Solinga, a model village in North Darfur to which some Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) have voluntarily settled.

(ST)