Netherlands hosts donor reconstruction conference

A three-day donor conference on the reconstruction of Sudan began on Tuesday in Noordwijk, near the Dutch city of Amsterdam. The aim of the conference was to identify and coordinate reconstruction activities that could begin immediately after an agreement was concluded between the Sudanese government and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), a Dutch foreign ministry statement said. "Active involvement in Sudan by the donor community and a rapid start to reconstruction activities are crucial ingredients for stability in the delicate phase following a peace agreement," the statement said. Participants were due to discuss peace-building activities such as mine clearance, disarmament and monitoring of the current ceasefire, as well as builiding up the country's infrastructure, establishing public authorities, and humanitarian activities. Representatives from the government of Sudan, the SPLM, the US, the UK, Norway, Canada, Switzerland, Japan, the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the Arab League, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and several NGOs were due to attend the meeting, the statement said. The Netherlands, which is the third largest donor to Sudan, would not make long-term aid arrangements for reconstruction and peacekeeping until a peace agreement had been signed, the statement added.