Abul-Gheit: Egypt welcomes Sudan peace agreement, offers assistance

Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul- Gheit yesterday welcomed the permanent peace agreement signed between the Khartoum government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) in Nairobi yesterday.

The deal ushers in a new future not only in south Sudan but all across the country, he said.

Abul- Gheit, who witnessed the signing, told MENA that Cairo is ready to help Sudan rebuild its infrastructure, including health and communications.

He said he sensed an acute personal commitment from SPLM leader John Garang to push forward Sudan's unity.

For his part, Garang praised Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's efforts during the last few years to help the two sides clinch a deal.

Abul Gheit led a high-level Egyptian delegation to the signing ceremony.

He met with Sudanese President Omar Al-Basher and a number of African leaders who attended the ceremony.

The top diplomat also held talks with US Secretary of State Colin Powell, Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Othman Taha and Libyan counterpart Abdel Rahman Shalgam on the sidelines of the ceremony.

The signing officially brings an end to the longest-running conflict in Africa.

Apart from a relatively peaceful period between 1972 and 1983, the south Sudan has seen nothing but war since the country's independence in 1956.

Meanwhile, Sudanese Charge d'Affairs in Cairo Hassan Abdel-Baki lauded President Hosni Mubarak's efforts to bring about a comprehensive peace in Sudan.

Speaking to MENA, Abdel Baki said the participation of Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit in the signing ceremony of a final peace agreement in Nairobi reflects the importance of the Egyptian role in making peace in Sudan.

"We expect Egypt to play a pioneering role in the reconstruction of what was devastated by war in the South that lasted for 20 years," the diplomat said.

With the signing of this agreement, Sudan enters a new stage towards stability and development, he said.

He said Egypt can play the same role in helping putting an end to the conflict in Darfur so that a comprehensive peace can be realised allover Sudan.

Sudan's Vice President Ali Othman Taha and Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) leader John Garang signed yesterday a comprehensive peace agreement, ending Africa's longest-running conflict that left more that 2 million people dead since 1983.