Qatari mediator: peace doc to faction heads, US$2bn for Darfur Dev. Bank

Ahmed Bin Abdulla Al Mahmoud, the Qatari State Minister of Foreign Affairs and a Darfur peace mediator, said in an interview with Radio Dabanga that the mediators finalized the peace document for Darfur and will hand it to factional leaders El Tijani Sese, Khalil Ibrahim and Abdel Wahid Al Nur. He also re-affirmed Qatari commitment to the planned Darfur Development Bank. The mediator stated that the peace document would fulfill all the aspirations of the people of Darfur. He also revealed that the mediators are right now working on laying out the final version of the document to present it to the mediators’ international backers: the United Nations (UN), the African Union (AU) and the Arab League, in addition to the Islamic Council Organization.

After presentation to these global bodies, the document will be presented to the heads of the factions El Tijani Sese, Khalil Ibrahim and Abdel Wahid Al Nur. They will be called on to sign the document.

Al Mahmoud also stated that it is the first time that the people of Darfur participate in the process of creating such a document, a process that included for the first time a number of factions, human rights groups and an implementation and follow-up mechanism.

On the other hand, Al Mahmood announced the completion of all the procedures for establishing the Darfur Development Bank with a start-up capital of two billion dollars. He stated that he expects the bank’s capital to exceed ten billion dollars. He also revealed that the Qatari prince, Hamad Bin Khalifa, received pledges from great nations which contacted it to provide more funds for the development of Darfur after the signing of the peace agreement and hinted that huge amounts of funds will be focusing on Darfur. He also urged all the sides not to miss the chance, given the international attention to the situation.