Vice President of Sudan to attend donor conference in Norway

More than 30 countries and organisations are sending delegates to the donor conference Sudan Consortium in Oslo, Norway 5–7 May. The Second Vice President of Sudan, H.E. Ali Osman Taha, will be heading the Sudanese delegation.  

First Vice President of Sudan, H.E. Salva Kiir Mayardit, has been prevented from attending the conference.  

UN Deputy Secretary General Asha-Rose Migiro will be heading the UN delegation. Among other heads of delegation is the World Bank Vice President for the Africa Region, Mrs Obiageli Ezekwesili, EC Commissioner Mr Louis Michel, and US Special Envoy to Sudan, Mr Richard Williamson.  

- The Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Sudan is in a critical phase. The parties must redouble their efforts to implement the agreement, says Norway’s Minister of the Environment and International Development Erik Solheim. 

- The situation in Sudan is highly complex, and there is little hope for achieving peace in Darfur unless the North-South peace agreement is successfully implemented, says Solheim. 

The Sudan Consortium will be opened by Norwegian Minister of the Environment and International Development, Mr Erik Solheim, on 6 May at 09:00 at the Clarion Hotel Royal Christiania in Oslo. A closed Darfur-session on 5 May will be openend by Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Jonas Gahr Støre.  

Accreditation: Members of the press must obtain personal accreditation. A press secretariate will be open at the hotel (room “Grønland”) on 5 May from 14:00 to 16:00 pm, and from 08:00 on 6 May. 

Webcast: Parts of the Sudan Consortium will be broadcasted on the Internet. More information will follow on www.regjeringen.no/ud and The World Bank.   

Press contacts:

• Questions on accreditation: press@mfa.no
• Media enquiries to the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Wera Helstrøm, tel. +47 99 40 93 23, e-mail: weh@mfa.no, or Tor-Henrik Andersen, tel. +47 41 55 48 28, e-mail: than@mfa.no.
• Media enquiries to the World Bank: Jakob Kopperud, tel. +33 (0) 6 6758 9686, email: jkopperud@worldbank.org

Media enquiries to the UN: Khaled Mansour, tel: +249 9 1215 0847, e-mail: mansourk@un.org.