Heads of state from Djibouti, Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda arrived in Nairobi on Saturday morning for a one-day summit aimed at relaunching the stalled Sudanese peace process.
Eritrean President Issaias Afeworki had not arrived as expected at 8:30 a.m. (0530 GMT) for the summit, which was set to open at Nairobi State House at 11:30 a.m.
Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) leader John Garang arrived in the Kenyan capital on Friday.
The summit, to be chaired by Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi, who heads the Sudan Peace Committee of the seven-country regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), was originally set to be held in April, but was delayed for undeclared reasons.
IGAD, which comprises Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda, has been pursuing peace efforts since 1993, but most initiatives have ended on the rocks.
Negotiations have repeatedly floundered on the issues of separation of state and religion and the right to self-determination.
The war, which broke out in 1983, has pitted the Islamic-backed government in Khartoum against the SPLA, which has fought successive regimes to end domination of the mainly Christian and animist south by the north.
Addressing Kenyans on the 38th anniversary of independence here on Friday, Moi pledged that he would do all in his power to push the stalled Sudan peace process forward.
"I am taking the Sudan problem seriously, because it has gone on for six or seven years, without any progress. We must move it forward," Moi added – NAIROBI (AFP)
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