At a ceremony on Saturday 5 June at the presidential palace in Nairobi, the two chief negotiators, First Vice President Ali Osman Taha, and the SPLM leader, John Garang, signed a declaration covering all the negotiated protocols relating to the peace process in Sudan, and committing the parties to ending the negotiations in the near future. This was the first time the two chief negotiators have signed a document in the peace talks themselves. The ceremony was attended by Kenya’s President, Mwai Kibaki, high-level representatives of the UN, the African Union and the Arab League, a number of foreign ministers and the entire diplomatic corps.

As chairman of the Sudan Committee of the international donor group IGAD Partners Forum, International Development Minister Hilde F. Johnson congratulated the parties and emphasised the importance of ending the negotiations as soon as possible.

- The signing of this declaration will help to ensure international recognition of and guarantees for the final peace agreement. This means that the preparations for peace, for example in the UN Security Council, can begin, said the Minister.

Ms Johnson also emphasised that peace in Sudan must apply to the whole country, including the Darfur region in western Sudan, and urged that talks on a solution to the conflict should start immediately. These should have been completed when the final, comprehensive peace agreement is signed.

The parties stated that they will begin the last negotiating round on implementation issues on 22 June in Kenya. These negotiations will probably be concerned with two technical annexes, one on the modalities for the cease-fire and one on the implementation of the peace agreement. When these annexes have been finalised, probably in the course of the summer, the final, comprehensive peace agreement for Sudan will be ready for signature.

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