Khartoum, Sept. 14 (SUNA)- A high- level Eritrean delegation, headed by the Advisor of the Eritrean President, Yemani Gabrab, and accompanied by the Foreign Minister, Osman Salih, Tuesday arrived in Khartoum to hold talks for consolidating the relations and cooperation between Khartoum and Asmara.

In a statement to SUNA, the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs , Muawiya Osman Khalid, said that the visit of the Eritrean delegation comes in the context of the distinguished relations between Sudan and Eritrea He said that the Eritrean delegation will hold talks with a number of senior officials on issues of mutual concern, especially the peace efforts in Sudan , the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and situation in Darfur on the light of the new government strategy for Darfur issue. He indicated that the two parties will also discuss coordination of stances of the two countries during the meetings of the UN General Assembly in New York, which are scheduled to begin in the third week of current September.

Khartoum, May 9 - The Assistant of the President of the Republic, Musa Mohamed Ahmed, Sunday briefed the visiting Eritrean delegation, headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Osman Saleh, on the latest developments in Sudan and the implementation of East Sudan Peace Agreement

Musa affirmed in a statement to SUNA after the meeting the important role being played by Eritrea as a mediator of the Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement. Musa said that the meeting reviewed outcome of the elections in Sudan as well as Eritrea’s contribution to the unity of Sudan and the plans for the coming period

He said that the meeting touched on the progress of the relations between Sudan and Eritrea and means of consolidating them further.

KHARTOUM, April 27 (SUNA) — Sudan’s President Omer Al-Bashir has addressed the Sudanese people following the announcement by the National Elections Commission of his re-election, which was held in accordance with the country’s 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).

In his address to the nation last Thursday, he described the election process as characterized by seriousness, freedom and the commitment to the practice of constitutional rights. The elections were not marred by violence, clashes or confrontations, he noted, stressing that the success of the elections was a victory for all the Sudanese people.

President Al-Bashir asserted his commitment to practise his powers and responsibilities as the president of all the Sudanese nation.

He lauded the role played by the National Elections Commission, and its chairman, Abil Alier, for their patience, persistence, good preparations and efforts to implement one of the most important pillars of the CPA and to hold the large and expensive elections, despite the technical and logistic challenges that faced it, emphasizing that the National Elections Commission had carried out its task with a honesty which was a source of honour all the Sudanese people.

President Al-Bashir thanked the international community for their donation of materials, in kind and administrative support for accomplishment of the historic elections in Sudan which was monitored closely by international and national observers, appreciating the support extended by all the organizations and Sudan fiends world-wide.

President Al-Bashir said that the international media had conducted intensive coverage of the elections in Sudan and was able to be informed about aspects of the election process and to be a witness of its smoothness and lacking to any aspect of violence or undermining of social peace.

He reiterated his commitment to live up to his responsibilities to lead the country with wisdom and to protect its stability and entity. The recent elections provided a good opportunity to all the Sudanese people with their different parties and orientations to express their views and to choose and offer their confidence to their candidates.

President Al-Bashir congratulated the people of his National Congress party who surpassed on of the biggest examinations by winning most of the election constituencies at all levels and obtained the confidence of the majority of the people of Sudan.

He also congratulated all the national political forces who contributed to bolstering the democratic progress in the country. He pointed out that the National Congress will maintain contacts, dialogue and consultations with all forces for establishing a national partnership toward confronting the challenges.

President Al-Bashir affirmed the keenness for holding the referendum on the future of south Sudan in the fixed time, as stipulated by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) as well as completing realization of peace in Darfur in western Sudan.

Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company, an international leader in sustainable development, today announced that it is expanding the land size of its landmark Mushaireb mixed-use community development located in downtown Khartoum through the acquisition of an additional 58,000 sqm of land, resulting in a total 206,000 sqm for the project.

The expansion was announced at a signing ceremony for the new land purchase at Qatari Diar’s Lusail headquarters in Doha today, presided by Eng. Mohammed bin Ali Al Hedfa, Group Chief Executive Officer of Qatari Diar, and a representative from the Sudanese government, HE Mohammed Abdul Wahab Othman, Minister of Planning and Urban Development.

Eng. Mohammed bin Ali Al Hedfa, Group CEO of Qatari Diar, commented on the announcement:

“The expansion of our Mushaireb development in Sudan reflects Qatari Diar’s deep commitment to establishing the best possible mixed-use real estate development, with an emphasis on sustainable development, for the people of Sudan. We see strong potential for the country’s long-term growth, and we are proud to be helping to improve the business, tourist, and residential opportunities and infrastructure in Sudan. Through our expansion of Mushaireb will be creating a unique environment where Sudanese heritage meets modern luxury. We look forward to continuing progress as our work on the site continues.”

In November of 2009, Qatari Diar unveiled revised master plans for Mushaireb at a press conference in Khartoum, and construction work on Phase-1 of Mushaireb began in 2009. The development has already proven to be a desirable location for investors seeking prime real estate in the heart of Khartoum.

Mushaireb will be one of Khartoum’s most distinguished developments, offering a new distinct luxurious integrated facility that will elevate the level of future Khartoum real estate projects.

This mixed-use development is situated on a prime location in downtown Khartoum with views along the Nile, conveniently just 20 minutes from Khartoum’s airport.

Mushaireb will mix traditional architecture within an urban landscape, and will include a 5-star hotel, 8 residential and retail towers, and office space. As part of the project, Qatari Diar will also undertake a redevelopment of the majestic waterfront corniche area along the Nile into a family-friendly entertainment area.

HE the Minister of Planning and Urban Development, Eng. Mohammed Abdul Wahab Othman stated: “This announcement represents the strong bond between the people of Sudan and Qatar. Mushaireb is an exciting and prestigious project that will revitalize downtown Khartoum and provide vibrant new business, residential, tourist, and commercial opportunities to the city. We look forward to continuing to find new ways to work with Qatari Diar and the Qatar people in all avenues to encourage the prosperous development of Sudan.”

Launched in 2004, Qatari Diar is wholly-owned by the Qatar Investment Authority and currently has more than 35 real estate development projects active in more than 20 countries around the world. Qatari Diar’s unique vision of sustainable development places community and local traditions at the forefront. It creates distinguished property developments with local culture and lifestyle experience to attract tourism and residents generating sustainable and tangible socio-economic benefits.

About Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company:

Wholly owned by the Qatar Investment Authority, Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company was established in December 2004 to support Qatar’s growing economy and to co-ordinate the country’s real estate development priorities. Qatari Diar is currently involved in more than 35 projects in more than 20 countries around the world, including Qatar, Morocco, France, Oman, Egypt, Djibouti, and Eritrea.

Qatari Diar is becoming established as one of the world’s most trusted and respected real estate companies because of its commitment to quality, local community, partnership and hallmark sustainability.

Qatari Diar’s hallmark vision of sustainable development places community and local traditions at the forefront. The Company aims to create and manage property investments and developments which not only comply with the best international standards, but which also strongly reflect local culture and values. As a result, Qatari Diar’s projects deliver a distinctive and sustainable social, economic and environmental benefit to the community. In addition, Qatari Diar often enables local and international developers and investors to partner in its projects, and to work together in exploring other opportunities, both locally and internationally.

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KHARTOUM, March 23 - According to Sudanese News Agencies, a visiting delegation from the European Union (EU) assigned to participate in the monitoring of Sudan’s elections next month has been briefed on the security plans worked out by the Khartoum State’s Police to ensure security for the polls.

The briefing was given when the Director of the Emergency and Operations Department of Khartoum State Police, General Al-Tayeb Babiker, met here Monday with the EU delegation. He briefed the delegation on the election security plans for all the candidates and political organizations.

The head of the delegation said that their views concentrated on the technical requirements for the elections process, indicating that they would not interfere in the elections.

In mid-March the European Commission announced that Véronique de Keyser, Member of the European Parliament, will lead 130 EU observers to assess pre-election preparations and campaign all over Sudan, voting, counting and tabulation of the results of the Election Days, as well as the post-election period.

To do so a first Team of experts arrived in the country at the end of February. The experts will soon be joined by a first wave of Long Term Observers (LTOs) and a second wave of Short Term Observers (STOs). In addition, the mission will be reinforced by a delegation of Members of the European Parliament for the election period.

The EU EOM does not present partial conclusions on Election-Day but comprehensive recommendations, based on exhaustive facts and information, once the entire process is over.

Therefore, the mission will stay in the country after the elections in order to present its first conclusions once the post election period is closed. The EU EOM is the largest international observer group in Sudan for these elections. The EU also contributed financially to their preparation.

Following the signature of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005, an amount of €500m was provided by the EU in development aid in addition to €640m in humanitarian aid since 2003.

The leader of southern Sudan says the country is at a “historic crossroads”, as it gears up for a national vote and a secession referendum for the south.

Salva Kiir also raised the prospect of conflict between north and south resuming despite a 2005 peace deal.

“We don’t want to go back to war but people have to be alerted [sic] always,” he told a conference of opponents of President Omar al-Bashir. Meanwhile, the president has ended years of censorship on newspapers.

Until now, state censors inspected newspapers before they were published and removed articles they did not approve of. The presidential decree ending this came after journalists pledged to sign up to a new code of ethics.

Ready for anything

Some reporters fear that it will still be difficult to write about the war in Darfur and the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for Mr Bashir for alleged war crimes committed there. The BBC’s James Copnall in Khartoum says press freedom is seen as a key condition for the April 2010 election to be free and fair.

Tension is rising in the run-up to the poll - the first national election since the end of the two-decade north-south conflict in 2005.

Mr Kiir’s Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) has accused northerners of stirring up recent ethnic violence in the south, which has left hundreds of people dead.

President Bashir’s National Congress Party (NCP) has rejected the accusations.

The NCP and SPLM are in a shaky coalition at national level, with some SPLM officials feeling the former rebels are being marginalised.

“To us in the SPLM, unity is a noble cause, but not any unity,” Mr Kiir said, according to the AFP news agency.

“Unity that does not generate a value-added to the present status of South Sudan does not attract anybody.

“The two possibilities of unity and secession… are real. Consequently, wisdom dictates us that we prepare ourselves to both eventualities.”

At the conference in the southern Sudanese capital Juba, prominent Islamist politician Hassan al-Turabi repeated his calls for Mr Bashir to travel to The Hague to face ICC trial.

Mr Turabi has previously been arrested for making these calls.

Semi-autonomous southern Sudan has been controlled by Mr Kiir’s SPLM since the peace deal ended the civil war. The NCP refused to take part in the conference.

Our reporter says the gathering of so many political heavyweights in one place must be of concern to those who are not there. Source: (The BBC)