The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Mariam Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi, held a series of meetings yesterday which began with a meeting of the Arab mini-group that is concerned with following up implementation of the Arab League Council resolution adopted in Doha on June 15, which includes Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Morocco and Iraq in addition to Tunisia, the Arab member of the Security Council, as part of a series of meetings she holds in New York prior to the Security Council session scheduled for Thursday, July 8, on the issue of the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
A statement issued by the Permanent Mission of Sudan to the United Nations in New York said the Minister expressed Sudan’s thanks and appreciation for the Arab stance with its just and legitimate cause in order to reach a binding legal agreement on the filling and operation of the Renaissance Dam that takes into account the interests of the three countries, through the Security Council’s enhancing of the African negotiation track.
The Minister also met with the permanent representative of Vietnam, a non-permanent member of the Security Council, and explained Sudan’s vision of what the Council could take, which is to reject any unilateral action that threatens the security and safety of the other two parties, while urging all concerned parties to engage in constructive negotiations sponsored by the African Union with the aim of reaching a binding legal agreement agreed upon by the three countries within a specific time period and with the participation of the parties of the quartet initiative proposed by Sudan in addition to South Africa.
In the same context, the Minister of Foreign Affairs met with the Chinese permanent representative, permanent member of the Security Council, and expressed Sudan’s appreciation for the distinguished relations between the two countries and that Sudan looks forward for China to play its important role in the Council to support taking steps to strengthen the African track of negotiations in order to reach a binding agreement that takes into account the interests of all parties.
The Chinese permanent envoy affirmed keenness on the friendly relations that bind his country with Sudan and other countries in the region and stressed his efforts within the council to reach a result that satisfies all parties.
At the conclusion of her series of meetings for the day, the Minister of Foreign Affairs met with the Permanent Representative of Britain, Permanent Member of the Security Council.
The Minister explained that Sudan’s position on the issue of the Renaissance Dam continues to emphasize the importance of the three countries of the eastern Nile River Basin reaching a binding legal agreement that guarantees the interests of the three countries, noting Sudan’s aspiration to continue the African Union’s mediation on the issue of the Renaissance Dam, with its strengthening with the participation of other international and regional bodies , according to a clear and specific time frame.
