French Cooperation Minister Charles Josselin has started a Sudan visit, becoming the first senior European official to travel to Khartoum since sanctions on the African state were lifted in September.
Josselin, who flew in late Tuesday from Libya, told journalists his talks with President Omar Al-Beshir and other Sudanese officials as well as opposition figures would focus on bilateral and international issues.
The terror attacks on the United States will also figure high on the agenda, along with Sudan's civil war, said the French minister at the start of a two-day visit. Josselin said relations had "improved remarkably" between Europe and Sudan since he last visited in 1998.
The UN Security Council last month lifted diplomatic sanctions imposed on Sudan in 1996 in connection with a failed assassination bid on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in June 1995. — (AFP, Khartoum)
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
