The Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr held talks with the president of the African Union Mediation Committee on Sudan, Sambo Mbeki, on Friday to discuss efforts made to ensure peace and stability between Sudan and South Sudan. The meeting was held the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa where Kamel Amr also met with Carlos Lopes, head of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. Mbeki presented Kamel with the current efforts being exerted by the committee to ensure both nations sustain a lasting peace. Prior to the meeting, the committee held talks with both parties in an attempt to push through deals signed in September of last year; the deals included economic, oil and security agreements between the two governments, effectively bringing an end to the conflict between both nations. During the meeting, South Sudanese president Salva Kiir called for the immediate implementation of all agreements, saying, “If there is to be progress, the cycle of negotiation cannot continue indefinitely... We must shift from rhetoric to action." One of the most contested issues between the two governments is claim over the region of Abyei where the Greater Nile Oil Pipeline runs. “We have exhausted the issue of Abyei for seven years," Kiir said, adding the issue “does not require further negotiation but rather swift adoption and implementation of the proposal." According to the State Information Service, Kamel Amr told Lopes that Egypt was ready to provide all the necessary assistance and expertise in statistics needed for African nations to develop plans for the next stage of the commission's work. In an African Union executive council meeting held on Thursday, Lopes said the commission will need to pay attention to “deepening the capacity for comprehensive, integrated development planning and long term scenario analysis." Lopes emphasised that the two areas of focus call for bolder investments in the “collection and deployment of statistical information and data-driven evidence." The executive council meeting precedes the two-day African Union summit, scheduled to start on Sunday.
