EU Managing Director for Africa to visit Sudan this week

The Managing Director for Africa of the European External Action Service (EEAS) will pay a visit to Khartoum this week.

In a press statement today, the European Union (EU) Delegation to Sudan announced that Koen Vervaeke, EEAS Managing Director for Africa, will visit Sudan on 6 and 7 July.

The purpose of the visit is to exchange views with the Sudanese authorities, opposition parties, and the civil society.

The EU follows with great interest the situation in Sudan and in the Horn of Africa, the statement reads.

To encourage efforts towards peace, an inclusive and transparent dialogue, and constitutional reform, the EU maintains a dialogue with all relevant Sudanese stakeholders.

On the eve of the visit, EU Ambassador to Sudan, Jean Michel Dumond, said: “The EU expects that engagement with Sudan will enhance concrete steps towards peace, stability, development and democratic reform.

“Human rights remain a key issue in these discussions and we welcome the continued readiness of the Government of Sudan to exchange views about the situation in and around Sudan.”

Vervaeke previously visited Sudan in early 2013. Among many areas of assistance to Sudan, the EU has been supporting the capacity of Sudanese constitutional discussions, and has recently published a major call for proposals in the area of human rights.