Ban Ki-moon receives his special envoy for Sudan and South Sudan

The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, has received his envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, Haile Menkerios, and got acquainted with the implementation of the matrix on the cooperation agreements which were signed between Sudan and South Sudan, especially with regard to the demilitarized zone and its monitoring.Menkerios said that Sudan and South Sudan have begun withdrawing their forces from the buffer zone.He said that the governments of Sudan and South Sudan have issued directives to the oil companies to resume production, transportation and exportation of the oil of South Sudan across the Sudanese lands.On the disputes in South Kordofan and the Blue Nile, Menkerios said that he informed the UN Secretary General that Sudan government and the leaders of the North Sector of the People's Movement have agreed to hold talks.Meanwhile, the UN Secretary General has welcomed the progress achieved in implementation of the agreement that was signed between Sudan and South Sudan and affirmed the UN keenness to extend assistance to the refugees in the two countries.He expressed his hope that this breakthrough will lead to boosting the mutual confidence and paving the way for resolving the pending issues.Ban Ki-moon also welcomed the decision of Sudan government and the North Sector to begin direct dialogue, hoping that this step will quickly lead to stoppage of hostilities, a matter that will help delivering humanitarian assistance and providing appropriate political atmosphere for solving the issue.