Former South African President Thabo Mbeki, the chief negotiator of Sudanese peace talks, is expected to visit Khartoum towards the end of March, a senior official from the African Union said.

Mahmud Khan, who heads the AU liaison office in Khartoum, told Radio Tamazuj on Sunday that, Mbeki will be in Khartoum before the end of this month to discuss issues related to the peace talks between Sudan’s government and opposition parties.

Khan did not give reasons as to why Mbeki’s visit to Khartoum was postponed last week.

Earlier, Sudan’s Acting Minister of Information, Ahmed Bilal Osman, said the government was optimistic about Mbeki’s visit as it could boost the participation of opposition parties in the National Dialogue process.

Last Saturday, Hassabu Mohammed Abdurrahman, Sudan’s Vice President, said for the success of the National Dialogue, his party has decided to give 50% of its constitutional positions to opposition parties which participated in the National Dialogue.

Photo: Thabo Mbeki (UN/Eskinder Debebe)