El-Bashir, Mbeki due to Kenya to oversee signing of peace deal

KHARTOUM, Dec 30, 2004 (Xinhua) — Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir and his South African counterpart Thabo Mbeki will fly Friday to Kenyan capital Nairobi to witness the initial signing of the peace agreement between the Sudanese government and Sudan People’s Lberation Movement (SPLM).

South African President Thabo Mbeki (L) is welcomed by his Sudanese counterpart Omer Hassan Ahmed El Bashir upon his arrival at Khartoum International Airport, Sudan, Thursday, December 30, 2004 (AFP).

The Sudanese official Omdurman radio reported that Sudanese Vice-President Ali Othman Mohamed Taha and the SPLM leader John Garang would sign the peace agreement on Friday in a ceremony held in Naivasha, Kenya.

The two sides would sign the two remaining supplementary documents on the ceasefire arrangemens and the implementation of the protocols about wealth and power division, according to the radio.

That will pave the way for signing a comprehensive agreement in January to end 21 years of conflicts in southern Sudan.

Mbeki, who is currently paying a three-day official visit to Sudan, and Kenyan President Moi Kibaki as well as representatives from memberstates of the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development (IGAD), the United Nations, African Union and Arab League, will participate in the ceremony.

Following the signing ceremony, the Sudanese government and the SPLM will form a joint committee within a week to prepare the last form of the peace agreement to be signed in January 2005.