Robert B. Zoellick to Travel to Rwanda and Sudan

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

Deputy Secretary of State Robert B. Zoellick will travel to Rwanda and Sudan during the week of May 31st. While in Rwanda, the Deputy Secretary will attend the annual meeting of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Summit in Kigali. He will then make his second trip to Sudan in order to visit Darfur and also to meet with Sudanese government officials and the Special Representative of the United Nations, Jan Pronk, in Khartoum.

Through his participation in the COMESA meeting in Kigali, Deputy Secretary Zoellick will highlight United States support for COMESA’s role in fostering regional political, economic, and security conditions. He will discuss with COMESA and the leaders of its member states our work together to bring about a peaceful, unified Sudan and support the transition process in the Great Lakes. The Deputy Secretary is also expected to meet with Rwandan government officials and visit the Genocide Memorial in Kigali. COMESA member states are Angola, Burundi, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. COMESA nations’ total population is 385 million, and they have a combined gross domestic product of approximately $388 billion.

In Sudan, Deputy Secretary Zoellick will continue our work -- in concert with the African Union, other international parties, and the Sudanese -- to resolve the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, advance effective implementation of the North/South Comprehensive Peace Agreement, and promote a political reconciliation in Darfur. He will meet with one of the forward-deployed African Union units in Darfur and talk with tribal leaders at a camp of internally displaced persons. His visit will follow up on the U.S. pledge made at the May 26 donors conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to support expansion of the African Union force in Darfur, particularly through NATO.

Deputy Secretary Zoellick last visited Darfur, Khartoum, and Rumbek in southern Sudan from April 14 -15th, after attending an international conference in Oslo to mobilize support for the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Accord between Northern and Southern Sudan.

The United States has led the world in providing humanitarian assistance to southern Sudan and Darfur. The United States will seek to provide between one and two billion dollars to this cause over the next two years, and has already committed over $1.1 billion with an additional $540 million under consideration for FY ’06. To date in fiscal year 2005, the United States has provided more than $375 million in humanitarian assistance to populations in Darfur and for the approximately 200,000 refugees who have fled to Chad. During fiscal years 2003-2005, we have provided more than $635 million in humanitarian assistance for the Darfur emergency.

SOURCE: state.gov 2005/563 Released on May 27, 2005 Press Statement (Revised)Richard Boucher, Spokesman Washington, DC May 27, 2005