“Special Envoy Gration will travel to İstanbul, Turkey, to attend a meeting of the Elders, an independent group of eminent global leaders brought together by Nelson Mandela. Special Envoy Gration will discuss the current situation in Sudan with the Elders and update them on US efforts to support peace and stability in Darfur and fully implement the CPA [the Comprehensive Peace Agreement]. The Elders is comprised of Martti Ahtisaari, Kofi Annan, Ela Bhatt, Lakhdar Brahimi, Gro Brundtland, Fernando H Cardoso, Jimmy Carter, Graça Machel, Mary Robinson, Desmond Tutu, and honorary Elders Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi,” the State Department said, without specifying the exact date of the meeting in İstanbul.
Gration will then travel to Abuja to attend the opening session of the African Union's (AU) Peace and Security Council and the release of a report of the African Union High-Level Panel on Darfur by former South African President Thabo Mbeki.
He will also have discussions with several African heads of state and will participate in a meeting of the E6, made up of envoys to Sudan from China, the European Union, France, Russia, UK and the US, the State Department said.
Gration will then go to Khartoum and Juba in Sudan, where he will have discussions with the National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) on the implementation of the CPA.
