Tripartite meeting to discuss “tension”

A tripartite summit will be held between Sudan, Eritrea and Qatar in New York in September, Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Uthman Isma’il has announced. The minister said the meeting would attempt to end “tension” between Khartoum and Asmara, the ‘Al-Ra’y al-Amm’ Sudanese newspaper reported on Saturday. A press release jointly issued in Asmara, Doha and Khartoum said the Eritrean and Sudanese governments had committed themselves to “vigorously pursuing” an agreement concluded in Doha on 2 May 1999 which aimed to consolidate Eritrean-Sudanese relations. According to the press release, the presidents of Eritrea and Sudan would hold regular consultations and exchange visits “in the interests of peace and security”. Tension between Sudan and Eritrea followed accusations by the Sudanese government that Eritrea was supporting Sudanese rebels. Hamid Bin-Khalifah, the emir of Qatar, has played a key negotiating role between the two countries.