Thabo Mbeki, former president of South Africa and chief mediator of the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) for Sudan, is expected to arrive in Sudan’s capital Khartoum in the next two days.

The purpose of the visit is to discuss the resumption of negotiations between the government and Sudan People’s Liberation Army-North on the Two Areas as well as issues pertaining to the National Dialogue Initiative before the start of the next round of talks in Addis Ababa, AUHIP said.

The AUHIP envoy held a meeting yesterday with the Sudanese Presidential Assistant and Chief Negotiator Professor Ibrahim Ghandour in which they discussed the National Dialogue process in Sudan.

Ghandour reiterated his government’s commitment to national dialogue and its determination to overcome all obstacles to achieving peace. He said the government is ready to resume the negotiations with the rebels at any timeframe set by the mediation.