18 August 2008 -- At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Khartoum yesterday, the African Union – United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) and the Government of Sudan held their monthly Technical Committee Meeting, headed by the Under-Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Mutrif Siddig and UNAMID Joint Special Representative (JSR) Mr. Rodolphe Adada

The two sides took stock of what has been achieved so far by the joint mechanism, in order to facilitate UNMID deployment and expressed their determination to work together in good faith, to reach this goal. In this context, the use of airports in Darfur by UNAMID, to facilitate the transport of equipment and troops was among the issues discussed.

UNAMID stressed the vital need to use Darfur airports around-the clock, including the new runway at El Geneina, stating that it would do its utmost to facilitate any necessary changes to the airports, in conjunction with the Civil Aviation Authority.

The Technical Committee Meeting also addressed issues related to convoy protection from El Obeid, customs clearance of Contingent Owned Equipment (COE) into Darfur, visa processing, and police training.

The Government of Sudan (GoS) reassured UNAMID that it will do all it can to facilitate the UNAMID troops deployment. The UNAMID Joint Special Representative thanked the Government and underscored the importance of cooperative work to this end.

Addressing the media at the end of the meeting, the JSR stated that cooperation with the GoS is progressing concerning the Mission’s deployment, noting that most of the challenges faced are essentially logistical and stressed the importance of the cooperation of the GoS to address them. He also expressed satisfaction at the arrival of advance parties of military engineers from Egypt and Ethiopia, adding that he was looking forward to the arrival of the rest of the contingents from these countries, which will boost UNAMID capabilities on the ground.