German FM arrives in Khartoum for talks with Sudanese officials
September 3, 2019 (KHARTOUM) – German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas Tuesday arrived in Khartoum for talks with the Sudanese prime minister on bilateral relations and his plans for peace in Sudan.
Maas is the second western foreign minister to visit Sudan after the Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto who is also EU special envoy for Sudan.
“Sudan is at a turning point (of its history)”, said Maas in a tweet posted hour before to take head to Sudan. He added that he would meet representatives of the protest movement in Khartoum.
Ullrich Klöckner, German Ambassador to Sudan, described the visit as “very important”, pointing out that the minister will hold meetings with Sudanese officials to discuss ways to boost bilateral relations to a broader horizon.
Klöckner further said that Germany supports the civilian government in Sudan to achieve the goals and aspirations of the Sudanese people, as reported by the official news agency SUNA.
The visiting German minister will meet with Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok who is still negotiating with the ruling coalition Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) the composition of his cabinet.
Minister Haas is expected to discuss with Hamdok and the FFC officials ways to achieve peace in Sudan generally and in Darfur in particular.
Germany is assuming the major party of the EU contribution to the budget for the UN peacekeeping operations which amounted 2.7 billion (36.81 % ) out of a total of $7.33 billion) in 2013.
Berlin during the past years supported an African Union mediation team led by the former South African President before to facilitate direct talks between two armed groups in Darfur and the ousted al-Bashir government.
(ST)