A senior Arab League official, Ahmed bin Helli, reported last Sunday that the organization decided during the Khartoum Summit to open soon a standing office in South Sudan; a move aimed at facilitating the disbursement of Arab support and aid for development and reconstruction in the region. The said office would be headed by Ambassador Mohamed Monsef, an Egyptian diplomat with a history in Sudanese affairs.

 

According to Ambassador Samir Hosni, chief of the Arab League Arab-African Cooperation, the League will hold a fourth coordinative meeting of Arab Finance Funds in Juba some time this year. Arab Finance Funds involve Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt. During previous meetings, participants discussed investment, development, service, and infrastructure projects worth $2 billion. Presently, development projects amounting to $200 million are being carried out in South Sudan.

 

The League is interested in opening new bureaus in some Arab countries such as Iraq and Somalia in order to achieve an Arab presence and national reconciliations there.

 

A delegation is purportedly headed to South Sudan to meet its government officials. There has not been any official word from the Government of Southern Sudan as to whether they would appreciate having the presence of the Arab League in the region.