Cabinet Briefed on Peace Negotiations

Khartoum(SUNA) – The Council of Ministers held its regular meeting Wednesday 9th September , chaired by Prime Minister , Dr. Abdullah Hamdouk, during which the ministers received a briefing on the peace negotiations and the signing of the agreement in initials with the Revolutionary Front and the armed struggle movements.

The Minister of Defense, Major General Yassin Ibrahim Yassin, has referred to the early start of discussions on the security arrangements axis carried under the leadership of the late Lieutenant General Jamal Eddin Omer and the great efforts made in the Darfur tracks, noting  to the agreement concluded including the stopping of hostilities, the ceasefire  that to start after the signing of the peace agreement, and the mechanisms stipulated in the agreement in preparation for concluding the final agreement.

The Minister of Defense has reviewed the process of merging and demobilizing forces, to be started  with the process of gathering and identifying the focal points for the delivery of weapons, the command and control mechanisms, and the importance of forming a permanent ceasefire committee, pointing to the process of the forces  sorting out, the determination of the training areas, and the criteria for admission to the armed forces.

The Minister of Federal Government Dr. Yousif Adam Al-Dahai underscored the efforts made by the experts and technicians during the discussions, and the approach of the tracks that were followed and led to satisfactory ends, noting to the issues discussed on the  center, North and East tracks.

Cabinet has expressed appreciation to state of Southern Sudan’s role in sponsoring the peace process at this stage of the Sudan’s history, stressing the importance of achieving peace as a main and supreme goal, agreeing to a sign a session to review the detailed issues in the presence of negotiators, technicians and experts, especially that the peace building process, requires the efforts of the executive body according to the axes identified during the negotiations.

PM Hamdouk made a statement on the agreement signed with Lieutenant General Abdulaziz Al-Hilu,the head of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – North in Addis Ababa, noting that it opens an important door to achieve comprehensive peace by restoring the forum for dialogue with the SPLM in Juba, indicating that efforts with the Sudan Liberation Movement – Abdul Wahid Mohammed Nour will continue.

The cabinet members praised the efforts made, stressing the need for the council to play a greater role in the implementation phase.

The Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Ambassador Omar Bashir Manis, provided an enlightenment on the transitional government annual performance, including the references, the ten priorities and the challenges that confronted the performance and achievements, starting with the steps of the democratic transformation, the pursuit of peace , the achievements in the fields of economy, education, health, energy and mining, security and defense, the higher education and scientific research, youth and sports, work and social development.

The Council has given directives for a ministerial committee headed by the Minister of Cabinet Affairs, to finalize the report by next Sunday in preparation for its approval and presentation to the joint meeting of the two councils.