Ban Ki-moon welcomes Darfur progress

The United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the successful negotiations between the Sudanese government and Darfur's Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). In a message to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for the Council of Ministers' Affairs, Ahmad bin Abdullah bin Zaid al-Mahmoud, the UN chief expressed his appreciation for Qatar's efforts in sponsoring the negotiations towards peace and stability in Darfur. Ban also said he would look forward to continuing to work with al-Mahmoud to entrench peace in Darfur and maintain security and stability in the troubled region on the basis of the Darfur Peace Agreement signed in Doha in 2011. The Sudanese government announced it would sign a peace agreement with a JEM, a Darfur rebel group, during the upcoming Donors conference in Doha on April 7 and 8. The agreement, under the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) comes after a year of negotiations in the Qatari capital.