Khartoum ready to reach a deal on Sudan’s Two Areas, negotiator

April 12, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s negotiating team for talks on Blue Nile and South Kordofan has expressed readiness to achieve an agreement with the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement/North (SPLM-N) in the next round of negotiations.

The member of the government negotiating team, Muneer Shaikh al-Din, said in statements to the government-sponsored Sudan Media Center (SMC) on Saturday they are ready to arrive at a deal with the SPLM-N on the Two Areas.

Meanwhile, the secretariat of the African Union High Implementation Panel (AUHIP) are in Khartoum to discuss the date and agendas of the coming round of talks.

Sheikh Al-Din said they are waiting for the AUHIP invitation for the next round of negotiations, pointing they will engage in it with an open heart in order to reach a deal with the SPLM-N.

He said that all parties are satisfied with proposals of agendas made by the two sides, noting that atmosphere of national dialogue opened a new door for hope that an agreement to end war in the Two Areas could be reached besides providing humanitarian aid to the needy population in accordance with to the tripartite program.

Last February the AUHIP suspended the stalled talks between the Sudanese government and the SPLM-N on the conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile and referred the matter to its mandating authority, the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC), asking for further guidance.

However, the AUPSC reiterated its confidence in the AUHIP mediation team led by Thabo Mbeki and asked him to reach an agreement by the end of April.

The talks stalled because the government delegation insisted that the objective of talks is to settle the conflict in the Two Areas while the SPLM-N delegation called for a holistic approach to solve Sudan’s problems.

(ST)