Cairo, March 21: Egypt and Turkey on Sunday urged the world community to help raise two billion dollars to rebuild Sudan’s war-torn western region of Darfur at an international aid conference.
International donors were in Cairo for the one-day conference organised by the 57-strong Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), and co-chaired by Egypt and Turkey.
“The Darfur issue is mainly an issue of development,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said as he urged donors to make significant pledges to Darfur, which has been devastated by a seven-year-war.
“We are convinced that the key is to improve development and raise the standard of living for the Darfur citizen,” he told the opening session.
Recent agreements signed between the government of Sudan and rebel groups were “important and need to be implemented,” he said.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also highlighted the importance of the agreements, but said a solution to the Darfur conflict was not just political.
Peace in Darfur “will not only be achieved through political agreements but also through humanitarian and development assistance,” Davutoglu said.
Sudan is represented by former Darfur rebel and now presidential adviser Minni Minawi, as well as ministers and senior officials.
Several Western diplomats present said they would not be making pledges at this conference.
“Our presence here constitutes a political message,” one of them said.
Another Western diplomat said: “We cannot make pledges at this conference. We have donated money in the past through the World Bank, but there are still some difficulties in the country,” he said.
The two billion dollars which the conference aims to raise is to finance in cooperation with Khartoum a long list of development projects in agriculture, water supply, health and education.
“The conference aims to send a clear message to the international community that development is a key factor in achieving peace and stability in Darfur,” the host nation said in a statement.
Aid to Darfur has so far concentrated on humanitarian and relief efforts. But organisers are trying to shift gear by working on a more long-term vision for Darfur through development and reconstruction projects.
Funds raised can be directly poured into projects or go through the OIC in coordination with Sudan and the pan-Islamic organisation is due to form a follow-up committee to oversee the running of projects.
The ministerial level conference also hopes to “provide an incentive to all Darfur movements to join the peace process” which has been taking place in Doha, the host said.
On Thursday Khartoum and a small Darfur rebel group, the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM), signed a framework peace accord and last month Sudan inked an agreement with key Darfur rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement.
The accord was hailed by the international community as a key step toward bringing peace to Darfur but talks have since run into difficulty.
The Cairo conference comes three weeks before Sudan holds its first multi-party elections since 1986, in which veteran leader Omar al-Beshir, who is is seeking re-election as president.
The Darfur conflict erupted in February 2003, when rebels took up arms against the government in Khartoum and its allies.
Over the last six years, the rebels have fractured into multiple movements, fraying rebel groups, banditry, flip-flopping militias and the war has widened into overlapping tribal conflicts.
The United Nations says up to 300,000 people have died from the combined effects of war, famine and disease and more than 2.7 million fled their homes.
Many of the rebels enjoy direct and indirect foreign support that helped fuel the conflict, with some critics pointing the finger at France, which has a military presence in neighbouring Chad – also accused of arming the Sudanese rebels.
—Agencies