Robert B. Zoellick to Travel to Norway and Sudan

Deputy Secretary Robert B. Zoellick to Travel to Norway and Sudan

Deputy Secretary of State Robert B. Zoellick will travel to Oslo, Norway and Sudan during the week of April 11th. While in Oslo, Deputy Secretary Zoellick will participate in the International Donors Conference for Sudan, where he will focus on the implementation of the North-South Comprehensive Peace Accord, curbing the violence in Darfur, and the international assistance needed to support these efforts. He is expected to announce the United States’ significant financial commitment to support full implementation of the Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Following the conference, the Deputy Secretary is expected to travel to Sudan.

Through his participation in the Donors Conference and visit to Sudan, the Deputy Secretary will emphasize the need for the Sudanese parties to move ahead with implementation of the peace accord, as well as to end violence in Darfur. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed last January in Nairobi provides a unique opportunity to end the violence in Darfur; we urge the Sudanese parties to grasp this opportunity to achieve peace and democracy in a unified country.

The United States has been a long and consistent leader in trying to bring peace and reconciliation to Sudan. Over the past three years, the United States has committed over $1.6 billion to Sudan for humanitarian assistance, conflict resolution in Darfur, reconstruction and development, and support for implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

SOURCE: state.gov 2005/394 Press Statement Richard Boucher, Spokesman Washington, DC April 8, 2005