Embassy in Khartoum reopens after six years

The Ugandan embassy in Khartoum has reopened after six years of closure as part of the Ugandan government's efforts to improve diplomatic relations with Sudan, 'The New Vision' reported on Tuesday. The government-owned newspaper quoted the Ugandan permanent secretary for foreign affairs, Ralph Ochan, as saying Uganda had decided to open its diplomatic mission in Sudan at the level of charge d'affaires, and that Abubakar Nadduli, former head of the Ugandan diplomatic mission in India, had been appointed to take charge of it. Uganda and Sudan severed diplomatic relations in 1996, with each accusing the other of backing rebels groups. Khartoum accused Uganda of supporting the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army, while Uganda in turn accused Sudan of harbouring self-styled mystic Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Sudanese President Umar Hasan al-Bashir announced on 20 August the total withdrawal of support by Sudan for the LRA, which has bases in southern Sudan. The Ugandan parliament in June approved a budget of 185 million Uganda shillings (US $108,333) to establish the embassy and pay running costs for four months. The embassy would require an annual budget of US $325,000, 'The New Vision' said. Sudan posted staff to its mission in Kampala last month, the newspaper said. "This marks a new era in which we will work together to build our relationship in accordance with the practices of civilised nations and the rules and principles of international law," the Sudanese charge d'affaires in Kampala, Siraj al-Din Muhammad, was quoted as saying on Monday.