Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir has directed the National Congress Party (NCP) organs to restart the 'National Dialogue' process in coordination with the National Dialogue mechanism also known as “7 +7” after Eid al-Fitr.

Bashir is also chairman of the ruling NCP and he initiated the dialogue intiative in a major policy speech last year. He has reportedly called on the party members to prepare a timetable for the start of the National Dialogue and revitalize communal dialogue mechanisms.

In an emergency meeting with the NCP political secretariat in the presence of deputy head of the party’s affairs Ibrahim Mahmud Hamid, President Bashir reiterated his commitment to accomplish the national dialogue as the only way for achieving national consensus.

The party leader stressed that the national dialogue initiative will remain a home-grown initiative, saying that there is no way for a national dialogue outside Sudan, as was proposed by some rebel groups as a condition for their participation.