SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES SUDAN LEADER’S ACCEPTANCE OF DARFUR INITIATIVE

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

Yesterday, the Secretary-General received a letter from President Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir of Sudan giving a positive response to the initiative of the United Nations and the African Union regarding United Nations support to the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS).  This assistance package is detailed in a joint letter addressed to President Bashir by the Secretary-General and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission on 22 September 2006, and is aimed at enhancing AMIS’s capacity to carry out its mandated tasks under the Darfur Peace Agreement.

The Secretary-General welcomes President Bashir’s acceptance of this initiative. He very much hopes that the proposed support package can be implemented expeditiously, in consultation with the African Union and with the full cooperation of the Government of Sudan.  The Secretary-General also welcomes the expressed readiness of the Government of Sudan to pursue its dialogue with the United Nations in the interest of an early and lasting resolution of the Darfur crisis.

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For information media • not an official record