51.   Western countries have said the two countries must conclude the treaty in order to be considered for NATO and European Union membership.

52.   Khair noted that the current border treaty was concluded during the colonial era of British occupation and was not signed by the present Islamic regime in Khartoum.

53.   Meanwhile his Chinese counterpart Sha Zukang noted that the UN General Assembly had set an end-of-year deadline for concluding the treaty.

54.   The chairman of the CTBT talks, Jaap Ramaker, hopes to conclude the treaty by the end of the year.

55.   The conference, which opened Monday, seeks to meet a year-end deadline for concluding the treaty.