The former president of South Africa and chief mediator of the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) for Sudan, Thabo Mbeki, concluded his three-day visit to Khartoum on Sunday April 9.
Mbeki met with Sudan’s President Omar Al-Bashir, the country’s First Vice President and National Prime Minister, Bakri Hassan Saleh, as well as senior government officials.
He also met members of the High Implementation Committee (HIC), which oversees the implementation of the outcomes of the National Dialogue, as well as leaders and representatives of other political parties and civil society, including Imam Sadiq Al-Mahdi, the leader of the National Umma party.
The AU Panel urged all of the parties outside the National Dialogue process to engage seriously with the political and constitution-making processes, which are vital for the political transformation and stabilization of the Sudan.
In the following weeks, the AU Panel said it will also facilitate the convening of the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee, as well as an extraordinary session of the Joint Political and Security Mechanism to discuss outstanding issues on the security of the border.
The Panel called upon the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement/North, Justice and Equality Movement and Sudan Liberation Movement/Minni Minawi, to renew their commitment to completing cessation of hostilities agreements, which are at a final stage of negotiations.
It pointed out that these agreements are necessary for ensuring the delivery of urgent humanitarian assistance to civilians in the conflict areas and advancing the important Sudanese political processes.
Photo: Mbeki hold meeting with Sudan’s First Vice President and Prime Minister, Bakri Hassan Saleh in Khartoum. (AU)