Sudan envoy hails UAE role in peace accord

The UAE
helped bring various Sudanese rebel groups to the negotiating table, which
eventually led to the historic peace accord in Sudan, a top Sudanese diplomat
told Emirates News Agency, Wam.
"The UAE has played a significant role in achieving the
peace accord. They closely followed the negotiations since the beginning and
offered assistance to bring more parties to the negotiation table,"
Mohammed Amin Abdullah Al Karib, the Sudanese Ambassador to the UAE, said in an
interview.
In
coordination with the transitional government in Sudan, the UAE held talks with
some important Sudanese factions and convinced them to become involved in the
peace talks, he said.
"That
was a crucial effort for the success of the peace talks and top Sudanese
leaders appreciated the UAE's role in their statements on the occasion of
signing the peace accord," Al Karib noted.
On August 31,
the transitional government of Sudan signed a peace agreement with an alliance
of rebel groups from different parts of the country, including the
conflict-torn states of Blue Nile, Darfur and South Kordofan.
The UAE, the
Gulf Cooperation Council, and major world nations and international
organisations have welcomed the agreement.
Talking about the immediate impact of the peace accord, the ambassador said: "Now there will be no war in Sudan. The money and efforts spent for conflicts can be diverted for developmental projects; people were waiting for this moment."
"What makes this accord unique is all armed groups that
signed the accord were part of the people's movement against the previous
regime of Omar Hassan Al Bashir [who was deposed in 2019]. They were not
fighting the present transitional government," the envoy explained.
All similar
deals signed since 1955 in Sudan were either between the government and a rival
armed group or between two warring factions, Al Karib pointed out.
The peace
talks were held in a democratic atmosphere in the country and received support
from almost all sections of international community, the diplomat said.
He also
appreciated that neighbouring South Sudan facilitated peace talks in their
country, despite their own challenges and while fighting the novel coronavirus,
Covid-19. The United Nations and African regional organisations also played an
important role, the envoy said.
Sudanese
expatriates in the UAE are jubilant about the peace accord and they have been
sending messages of support through social media and Sudanese media, Al Karib
said. An estimated 100,000 Sudanese and another 5,000 foreign citizens of
Sudanese origin are living in the UAE, he revealed.
The UAE's
support was crucial since the transitional government was formed in September
2019. The Emirates, along with Saudi Arabia, had offered $3 billion ($1.5
billion each) financial assistance to the Sudanese government, he pointed out.
"It is going on well. With the UAE's aid, almost half a
million Sudanese children are going to school now," he revealed.The UAE is the largest contributor to humanitarian
efforts in Sudan. The Emirates offered more than 80 tonnes of medical supplies
to fight Covid-19. "This is on top of the $1.5 billion assistance."
"The UAE has been playing a very important role in
economic assistance, humanitarian support and peace process in Sudan. The
Emirates has been very active in a group of governments and multilateral
organisations, known as the Friends of Sudan, which aims to support democratic
transition and economic reforms in Sudan," the envoy said.
"While we are talking, relief items are being flown
from the UAE to Sudan that witnessed floods in the past few weeks. Such
humanitarian efforts have never stopped for several decades. Whenever there is
a humanitarian crisis in Sudan, the UAE has always been on the forefront to
help," he stressed.
This deep
relationship started since Sudanese began coming to the Emirates in the 1960s.
"Sudanese people made excellent relationships with their Emirati brothers
and contributed to establishing many important institutions when the UAE was
formed in 1971. Still, you cannot find any important professional field in the
UAE without the presence of Sudanese expats," the ambassador said.
Sudan was the
one of the first countries to recognise the UAE and the then-Sudanese president
was one of the first heads of state to visit the Emirates in 1971. The late
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan visited Sudan in 1972 and helped fund many
developmental projects in infrastructure, agricultural and educational sectors
in Sudan, he noted.
"We are
grateful to the UAE for always being concerned about the well-being of Sudanese
people," the envoy said.