24 January 2010 - At a meeting today with officials from the Government of Sudan, the new AU-UN Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) Joint Special Representative (JSR), Professor Ibrahim Gambari, stated “We reaffirmed our commitment to work jointly and cooperatively to address the remaining challenges in Darfur, so that we can do everything possible to implement UNAMID’s mandate."

JSR Gambari, accompanied by a number of senior UNAMID officials, including Deputy JSR Henry Anyidoho, met with the acting Foreign Affairs Minister Elsamani Alwasila, and the Ministry’s Undersecretary, Dr. Mutrif Siddiq, to formally announce his arrival in Sudan and assumption of duty. The meeting also served as an opportunity to review the humanitarian, political and security aspects of the situation in Darfur.

Upon his arrival in Khartoum on Friday, JSR Gambari attended a reception held in his honour by the Nigerian ambassador, Mr. Salihu Ahmed-Sambo. The diplomat noted that Gambari “has the calibre, professionalism, and the experience” to lead UNAMID. The event was attended by ambassadors of the African countries. Seminal support was reiterated by the Dean of the African group, and ambassador of Algeria, as well as the head of the AU liaison office in Khartoum. JSR Gambari also made a courtesy call to UNMIS Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) Ashraf Qazi.

JSR Gambari will arrive in El Fasher tomorrow, to gain a first-hand perspective of the situation on the ground. He will then head to the African Union’s headquarters in Addis Ababa to meet with AU Commission leadership and attend the organization’s annual summit. He will also attend the meeting of the AU/UN/Government of Sudan Tripartite Mechanism, taking place in Addis Ababa on 4 February.