Power-sharing talks to resume on Wednesday

Burundi power-sharing talks were scheduled to resume at about 16h00 on Wednesday in Pretoria, South Africa, as soon as the facilitator, Deputy President Jacob Zuma, returned from a cabinet meeting, also in Pretoria, the South Africa Office of the Presidency announced. The talks began on Tuesday between the transitional government of Burundi and the Conseil National pour la Defense de la Democratie/Forces pour la defense de la democratie (CNDD-FDD) movement of Pierre Nkurunziza. The government delegation is led by President Domitien Ndayizeye and the CNDD-FDD by Nkurunziza. Under the ceasefire agreement signed in December 2002, the CNDD-FDD is to participate in the transitional institutions of Burundi such as the government, national assembly and security apparatus. The implementation talks are aimed at working out the areas of participation and integration. According to a statement issued by the South Africa Office of the Presidency, Zuma was pleased with progress made on Tuesday, as the two parties presented their respective ideas on power sharing and transformation of the military, which now need to be harmonised to arrive at a common workable agreement. Zuma added that he was encouraged by the commitment displayed by the two parties, and said he was "confident that the issues being discussed would be finalised soon to further advance the implementation process". The talks are scheduled to end on Thursday.