Statement by the Press Secretary/ Director-General for Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the Signing Ceremony of a North-South Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Sudan

January 9, 2005

The Government of Japan welcomes the holding of the signing ceremony in Nairobi, Kenya on January 9, on the North-South Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). This Agreement will put an end to the civil war in Sudan, one of the longest conflicts in Africa which lasted for more than twenty years. This Agreement has been made possible by the confidence building efforts among the parties to the conflicts who have continued their peace talks strenuously. The Government of Japan expresses its respect for the efforts made by the parties concerned, including those by the Inter Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) which has led the peace talks and those by Kenya which has hosted the peace talks.
The government of Japan encourages the parities concerned with the humanitarian problems in Darfur region to exert their peace efforts so that these problems will also be solved without delay following the successful agreement on the comprehensive peace between the North and the South. Stability in Sudan, the largest country in Africa, is expected to bring about positive impacts on the stability of the entire African continent. Japan, as a member of the international community, is ready to play a positive role for the consolidation of peace in Sudan.

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