* Germany conference called off after embassy riot
* Sudan and South came close to war in April
By Georgina Prodhan
VIENNA, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Sudan and South Sudan pledged to work together to
rebuild their shattered economies and not to return to war in a joint plea
for foreign investment after signing a critical trade and border agreement
last month.
In their first high-profile appearance together since signing the deals,
ministers from the two countries told an investment conference in Vienna
they would work to make peace.
"I assure you ... we are committed, both countries, not to go back to war.
We are committed to talk and talk and talk," Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali
Ahmed Karti said.
The African neighbours signed two weeks ago in Ethiopia several agreements
to end hostilities and resume key oil exports from the South through Sudan
after coming close to war in April.
Both countries have yet to sort out other conflicts left over from South
Sudan's messy secession last year such as deciding the fate of Abyei and
other border regions.
Separately on Wednesday, insurgents said they had shelled the main city in
Sudan's oil-producing South Kordofan state, the second attack on the city
this week.
Fighting in South Kordofan has forced hundreds of thousands to flee their
homes and added to tensions between Sudan and South Sudan, former enemies in
a civil war that ended in 2005.
The two sides have a history of signing and then not implementing deals,
making many potential investors wary of putting money into projects like oil
refineries or mineral exploration.
But the loss of foreign money after landlocked South Sudan stopped oil
exports through its northern neighbour in January in a row over fees has
left both economies in dire straits and pushed them to scramble to replace
the lost revenues.
"The shutting off of the oil, it didn't help either of us," South Sudan's
deputy minister for international cooperation, Elias Wakoson, told the
conference. "Without our economy improving, the economy of Sudan will not
improve.
Austria is trying to help rekindle relations between Sudan and South Sudan
by hosting a conference to drum up investment in both countries.
The forum is a rare opportunity especially for Sudan to get in touch with
Western firms which mostly shun the Arab African country due to U.S. trade
sanctions in place over Khartoum's human rights record and past role hosting
militants.
BERLIN CALLS OFF CONFERENCE
A similar investment conference was due to have been held this month in
Europe's biggest economy, Germany, but was called off by Berlin after the
German embassy in Khartoum was stormed in protests against a U.S. film
insulting the Prophet Mohammed.
Karti acknowledged there was work to be done to rebuild trust with Germany
and the United States, whose embassy was also attacked, but expressed
optimism relations with Germany would return to normal and that the
conference plans could be revived.
No concrete agreements to invest in Sudan or South Sudan were announced at
the Vienna conference, but some delegates said they were actively
considering the idea.
Water treatment company Wabag, which already has operations in neighbouring
Egypt, started thinking about extending into Sudan about two years ago,
according to sales and marketing director Daniel Pineda.
"Our Egyptian colleagues said let's look at it and we said: Why not?" Pineda
told Reuters. "But it could take five years until you really have a project.
It's still a long way to go."
"In the end, what is most important is that they stick to what they have
said in their documents."
Austrian energy group OMV, which sold its remaining Sudanese oil interests
in 2004, said on Wednesday it had no current plans to re-enter the market.
Juba hopes to restart oil production by the end of the year but may need a
year or more to reach its former output of 350,000 barrels a day since some
infrastructure was damaged during fighting in April. (Reporting by Georgina
Prodhan; editing by Ron Askew)
Sudan rebels say they shelled oil state capital again
Wed Oct 10, 2012 2:27pm GMT
* Army says five killed in earlier shelling
* Kadugli has been mostly isolated from fighting (Adds army comment,
background)
KHARTOUM Oct 10 (Reuters) - Insurgents said they had shelled the main city
in Sudan's oil-producing South Kordofan state on Wednesday, the second
attack on the city this week.
Sudan's army has been battling SPLM-North insurgents in South Kordofan since
June last year, shortly before South Sudan, which adjoins the state,
seceded. But the capital Kadugli has largely been spared so far.
Khartoum accuses South Sudan of backing the rebels, an accusation that it
denies.
"We are acting in self-defence. The Sudanese army has been bombing our
positions with Antonov planes around Kadugli since yesterday," SPLM-North
spokesman Arnu Lodi said. "We are shelling military positions in Kadugli."
A local witness told Reuters that four shells had landed in an eastern
suburb of Kadugli on Wednesday morning after some shelling of the district
the previous night. No casualties were reported.
Sudanese army spokesman Al-Sawarmi Khalid denied the army had bombed any
rebel positions and said he could not confirm any new shelling.
"The armed forces did not register any shelling or attack on Kadugli last
night or today," he said.
The rebels say they began to attack Khartoum's forces in Kadugli only after
their own positions were bombed.
Sudanese state media said five people had been killed by SPLM-North
artillery on Monday. The United Nations said at least one rocket had hit a
U.N. compound in Kadugli, and moved out its staff, complaining of a
violation of humanitarian law.
Fighting in South Kordofan has forced hundreds of thousands to flee their
homes and added to tensions between Sudan and South Sudan, former enemies in
a civil war that ended in 2005.
The two countries agreed last month under international pressure to
establish a buffer zone after clashing along their border several times in
the past year.
However, there has been scant progress in parallel indirect talks between
Khartoum and the rebels of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North, who
fought as part of the southern rebel army during the civil war. (Reporting
by Ulf Laessing, Khalid Abdelaziz and Alexander Dziadosz; Editing by Kevin
Liffey)
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Received on Wed Oct 10 2012 - 17:02:32 EDT
