Carter Assured On Sudan Ties

Jun 07, 2001

UGANDA and Sudan will exchange diplomats within the next few days, reports Charles Wendo.

UGANDA and Sudan will exchange diplomats within the next few days, reports Charles Wendo. Former United States President Jimmy Carter told a press conference at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel yesterday that he had met President Yoweri Museveni who briefed him about the planned exchange of diplomats. He said the resumption of diplomatic relations was part of a December 1999 agreement between presidents Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Omar el-Bashir of the Sudan, which he brokered. He described the planned exchange of diplomats as a first step towards achieving peace between the two countries. "We are very interested in seeing peace. The Carter Centre has been involved in trying to mediate the misunderstanding between Uganda and Sudan. "President Museveni informed me that within a day or two there will be exchange of diplomats between Uganda and Khartoum," he said. Uganda severed diplomatic ties with Sudan in 1995, accusing its neighbour of supporting terrorist rebel groups opposed to the Government. Sudan on the other hand accuses Uganda of supporting the Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA) who have captured most parts of Southern Sudan. The Nairobi agreement between Museveni and Bashir entailed cessation of assistance for each other's rebel groups, exchange of diplomats and the return of children abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) of Joseph Kony. Some of the abducted children have since been repatriated to Uganda. "Uganda has gone far in implementing an agreement reached in Nairobi in December 1999," Carter said. Earlier in the day, Carter said it is because of Museveni's good leadership that there are now prospects for peace in northern Uganda. Carter is in Uganda to attend a workshop on food security in Africa. The workshop is organised by Sasakawa Global 2000 (SG2000), an international agricultural NGO operating in 12 African countries. The Carter Centre is one of the main financiers of the NGO. Carter said 4,000 families in Uganda are now producing four times as much grain as before due to the support of SG2000. He said the project, with only one foreign expert in Uganda, had trained 300 extension workers who advise farmers in several districts. Agriculture minister Dr. Kisamba Mugerwa and the founder of SG2000, Mr. Yoheyi Sasakawa, were present. Carter said, "One of the special features of SG2000 is that for every country, we have only one foreigner. We train native workers who deal with farmers." Ends

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