Sudan’s Bashir and Kiir discuss Abyei issue in Ethiopia on Sunday

June 11, 2011 (KHARTOUM) — The Sudanese President Omer Hassan Al-Bashir and South Sudan government President Salva Kiir Mayadrit will discuss the issue of Abyei in a meeting to be held in Addis Ababa on Sunday.

Organized by the head of the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) Thambo Mbeki, the meeting will be also attended by the Panel members President Abdusalami Abubakar and President Pierre Buyoya. The Chairperson of IGAD, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, will also participate.

Held four weeks before the independence of the South Sudan, the agenda of the meeting will tackle the issue of Abyei, including the withdrawal of armed forces from the area and the dispatch of an African led international mission to provide security, the creation of conditions for the speedy return of displaced people and protection of civilians, as well as steps towards a final settlement of the status of the area.

Other items on the agenda for the Summit include the speedy establishment of mechanisms for joint security management between north and south, and the forthcoming round of negotiations on post-secession economic arrangements.

(ST)