East Sudan To Get $23 Million Donation From China

The Chinese government has said it will donate 154 million Yuan ($23 Million) for aid projects in the strategic eastern part of Sudan.

China's special representative in charge of tackling conflict in Sudan's Darfur region, Liu Guijin said this at a donor's conference in Kuwait on Thursday.

Liu, said that development in eastern Sudan was crucial to stability and economy, since it contains the only commercial port and miles of pipeline.

“But this region's advantages in natural resources have yet to be truly transformed into a development advantage," he said.

The Beja Congress, an east Sudanese party, signed a peace deal with Khartoum in 2006, ending a lingering insurgency in the region. Its leader became a presidential assistant.

But it has complained that the government has continued to neglect the region since the accord.

Development commitments

Liu said that China had already made "many contributions" to developing eastern Sudan, and would now donate a further 154 million yuan to build water supplies, bridges and other infrastructure.

He expressed China's wiliness to continue playing a constructive role in maintaining peace and stability in Sudan.

Chinese companies are major investors in Sudan's oil, and China is Khartoum's top arms supplier, something long criticised by human rights activists and Western governments, especially because of the conflict in Darfur.

But China, sensitive to criticism about its role in Sudan, has sent peacekeepers to Darfur and appointed its own special representative to the region to try and bring peace there.

REUTERS/Williams