The former president of South Africa and chief mediator of the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) for Sudan Thabo Mbeki is expected in Khartoum on Friday, after rescheduling the trip from an earlier date.

The mediator was supposed to visit Blue Nile state last Wednesday, but was reportedly delayed for unclear reasons. In a press statement in Khartoum yesterday, the head of African Union office in Sudan revealed that the visit of the chairman of the AUHIP was delayed to Friday.

He noted Mbeki will meet with President Al Bashir and several government officials besides the political parties and civil society organizations, saying the meeting will concentrate on the national reconciliation and dialogue initiative in Sudan.

For his part, an SPLM-N member at the peace talks in Addis Ababa confirmed to Radio Tamazuj that they have not received a notification about the resumption of next round of talks on the Two Areas.

Resumption of the next round of talks is expected to be announced by the chief mediator Mbeki during his three day visit to Khartoum on Friday. Negotiations between the Sudanese government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-North were scheduled to resume in mid-May.