The European Commission (EC) has provided 1.5 million euros (1.8 million US dollars) to the forthcoming peace negotiations between the Sudanese government and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) to help them reacha comprehensive peace agreement.

A press release by the EC delegation here on Tuesday said the funding provides support to the peace secretariat of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, covering costs related to hosting the peace talks duringthe coming six months.

It would also be used as operational costs of the international cease-fire observation mechanism.

"After a decade with on-off dialogues, the negotiations between the government of the Sudan and SPLA seem to have reached the homestretch," it said.

"Several sectoral accords, considered as major 'building blocks' on the way toward a comprehensive agreement, have been reached, thus building up momentum," it indicated.

A comprehensive peace agreement would also enable the EC to initiate a large-scale program for post-conflict recovery, rehabilitation and development worth 500 million euros (some 600 million dollars), according to the release.

The Sudanese government and the SPLA began peace talks in March1994 in Kenya, under the auspices of IGAD, a seven-member regional group in east Africa, consisting of Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Uganda, Eritrea, Somalia and the Sudan.

Source: Xinhua