The Sudanese government, the Arab League (AL), the African Union (AU) and the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) started a consultative meeting in Khartoum on Sunday evening to discuss ways to end the conflict in Darfur and to improve the humanitarian situation in the restive region.
The Sudanese delegation included Presidential Advisers Mustafa Osman Ismail and Ghazi Salah al-Din, and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ali Karti while the three regional organizations were represented respectively by AL Secretary General Amr Moussa, AU Chairperson Jean Ping and OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu.
Abdallah al-Azrag, the director of the Arab Department in the Sudanese Foreign Ministry, told reporters that the consultative meeting was held at an invitation of the Sudanese government, adding that the participants in the meeting would discuss the coordination of positions on the humanitarian situation in Darfur and the political efforts to solve the problem of Darfur,
He said that the meeting would deal with the latest developments in the peace talks between the Sudanese government and the rebel Justice and Equality Movement, which were hosted by Qatar, and a recent arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir and the arrangements to suspend the decision.
“It is natural for the three organizations to hold a consultative meeting,” the Sudanese official said, denying any previous arrangement to form a joint delegation by the three organizations in order to take coordinated moves in the United Nations to defer the ICC arrest warrant against the Sudanese president.
The representatives of the three regional organizations will visit the North Darfur State on Monday to inspect the humanitarian situation on the ground and hold talks with local authorities there before returning to Khartoum to have a meeting with Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Taha.