Brussels, 10/01/2005 (Agence Europe) - The European Union has welcomed the peace agreement, signed in Nairobi (Kenya) on 9 January between the Khartoum government and the Sudan Peoples' Liberation Movement/Army. The European Commission was represented at the signature ceremony by Stefano Maservisi, the Director General of DG Development.
In a press release published on Tuesday, the Commission "warmly welcomes" this agreement, "which is expected to bring durable peace to a region affected by the longest-running armed conflict in contemporary Africa". The community executive sees this as "a quantum leap for the region", and is "confident that this process will also have a positive impact on the conflict in Darfur and allow other tension to be prevented". The Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Louis Michel, said: "I would like to congratulate both sides for having concluded the Naivasha negotiations, which should open the way for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of all parts of Sudan, and thus allow the immense suffering of the Sudanese people to be dealt with and resolved".
On 7 January, the High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy of the EU, Javier Solana, wrote to the Sudanese President Al-Bashir and the President of the SPLM/A, and to all African leaders involved in the conclusion of this agreement, to welcome the favourable outcome of the negotiation process, "one which the EU and its Member States supported politically and financially".
In this letter, Javier Solana welcomed the signing of the agreement in advance, which is expected to bring peace to the region, and which is "an important success for IGAD, which has provided a framework and political guidance to the process". The High Representative commends the Mediator, General Lazaro Sumbeiywo and the international observers for their unstinting efforts to "steer this process through its many ups and downs". He added that he was looking forward to a rapid and complete implementation of the agreement.