The Secretary-General of the Sudanese National Dialogue mechanism has met with US Charge d’Affaires Jerry Lanier who reportedly pledged to make contact with rebel groups to convince them to join the dialogue, according to state-run media.
Sudan News Agency (SUNA) reported that Lanier “pledged to make contacts with a number of movements for convincing them to join the dialogue and to help the dialogue’s Secretariat General.”
In a statement after the meeting, the National Dialogue Secretary General Hashim Ali Salim said that they informed the American diplomat and the Embassy’s Political Secretary on the progress of the dialogue, which launched last Saturday.
“Prof. Salim hoped that the efforts of the US Embassy will achieve success in uniting visions of the armed movements bringing the armed movements to participate in the dialogue. The US Charge d’Affaires has appreciated the meeting and the ongoing efforts to make a success the dialogue,” reads the SUNA report.
The Sudan Revolutionary Front, the most significant rebel coalition in the country, has declined to participate on the ongoing National Dialogue. The Popular Congress Party, which split with the ruling party in 1999, is the main opposition group participating in the National Dialogue, along with a number of minor parties and civil society.
Related:
Kerry says open to talks on removing Sudan from terror list