The Secretary-General welcomes the deal reached by the Governments of Sudan and South Sudan on oil and financial arrangements.   It is an important milestone for building good neighbourly relations between the two states.

The Secretary-General is encouraged that the two Governments have significantly narrowed their positions on contentious issues.  He regrets, however, that they have not met the 2 August deadline set by the United Nations Security Council in endorsing the African Peace and Security Council Road Map.   He urges the Sudanese and South Sudanese leaders to muster the necessary political will to resolve all outstanding issues.

The Secretary-General commends the Government of Sudan and the SPLM/North for signing, separately, Tripartite Memoranda of Understanding with the African Union, League of Arab States and the United Nations on humanitarian assistance to war-affected civilians in South Kordofan and Blue Nile States.  He urges the Government of Sudan to expeditiously enable the delivery of aid to the populations concerned.  The Secretary-General commends the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel, led by former President Thabo Mbeki, and his Special Envoy for their efforts in helping the parties make progress.