2006 Press Releases
Visit to Sudan by Presidential Special Envoy Andrew S. Natsios, Oct. 13-19
Khartoum
October 20, 2006
Special Envoy for Sudan Andrew S. Natsios completed his first visit to Sudan since President Bush announced the creation of the position during his address to the UN General Assembly on September 19.
Mr. Natsios had a series of useful meetings with a wide variety of senior government officials, political, religious, and civil society leaders, and NGOs in Khartoum, Juba, and in Darfur region.
“This was my first trip to the Sudan in my capacity as Special Envoy. My goal was to listen to the Sudanese,” Mr. Natsios said. “At the same time, I conveyed U.S. policy that includes movement toward an effective peacekeeping force, a political settlement for the Darfur crisis, and protection of non-combatants from further atrocities.”
In Khartoum, Mr. Natsios met with First Vice President Salva Kiir, Second Vice President Ali Osman Taha, Adviser to the President and Sudan Liberation Movement leader Minni Minawi, Foreign Minister Lam Akol, Presidential Adviser Ghazi Salaheddin, and other senior Sudanese officials and NGOs, as well as UN Special Representative for Sudan Jan Pronk.
While in Juba, Mr. Natsios again met with 1st Vice President, and President of the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) Salva Kiir, with GOSS Vice President Riek Machar, and other GOSS officials. He also toured Juba where he reviewed some projects funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development.
“After 20 years of civil war, people of the Southern Sudan are finally seeing the benefits of peace,” said Mr. Natsios. “The economy is expanding as the roads are repaired, displaced people are returning home, and $1 billion in oil revenues has been transferred to the GOSS.” Mr. Natsios pressed both in Khartoum and in Juba for implementation of key outstanding provisions of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, such as the Abyei Protocol.
In addition, Mr. Natsios visited the Darfur region, making stops in both Nyala and El Fasher. While in Nyala, he met with the Wali of Southern Darfur, and had consultations with the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) Force Command and the UN. He also visited the Otash Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp on the outskirts of Nyala, where he met newly displaced persons. The international community, led by the U.S., will continue to support the IDPs, but Mr. Natsios stressed to the government that it is incumbent upon them to ensure the protection of IDPs from further abuses. In El Fasher, Mr. Natsios met with the AMIS Force Commander who briefed him on their operations.
Mr. Natsios is returning to Washington via Cairo, where he will meet with senior Egyptian and Arab League officials. He will report to President Bush and Secretary of State Rice and make policy recommendations. He intends to visit Khartoum again in the near future.
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