2008/09/16
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undefinedPRESIDENT Thabo Mbeki departed for Sudan yesterday after attending the historic power-sharing agreement ceremony in Zimbabwe.
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undefinedDepartment of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said Mbeki, joined by deputy foreign affairs minister Aziz Pahad, had flown to Sudan to meet President Omar El Bashir and Sudanese vice president and president of South Sudan Salva Kiir to be briefed on peace and security issues in the country.
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undefinedSouth Africa is the current chair of the African Union’s post-conflict and reconstruction of the Sudan, and Mbeki’s visit would be an opportunity to assess progress made on this front, Mamoepa said.
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undefinedMbeki visited Sudan last year and also received El Bashir and Kiir in South Africa. In the same capacity Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has visited Sudan in accordance with the AU mandate.
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undefined“The current visit to Sudan will thus provide President Mbeki and his delegation with an excellent opportunity to be briefed on progress regarding the North-South dialogue as well as the peace and security situation in the whole of Sudan,” Mamoepa said.
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undefinedThe remainder of Mbeki’s facilitation team, brought on board to find a solution to the situation in Zimbabwe, were due to arrive back last night.
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undefinedThe team included Dlamini-Zuma, Director General in the Presidency Frank Chikane and Provincial and Local Government Minister Sydney Mufamadi. — Sapa |