Assembly/AU/3 (X) Page 11 countries”. In pursuance of this Agreement, a Tripartite + Summit was held in Addis Ababa, on 5 December 2007, under the aegis of the United States of America. 48. Concurrently with the above initiatives, the Government of the DRC organized in Goma, from 6 to 23 January 2008, a Conference on Peace, Security and Development in the Kivus, attended by the armed groups in the region, elected local and national figures from these two provinces, Civil Society representatives and International Community representatives, including the African Union. This Conference culminated in the conclusion of a Peace Agreement. At its 106th Meeting held on 19 January 2008, the PSC welcomed the convening of this Conference by the Congolese Government and expressed the hope that the conclusions thereof would help speed up the restoration of peace and stability in the region. 49. At its meeting of 25 October 2007, the PSC invited the Commission to send a fact-finding mission to the DRC on the security problems along the borders with the CAR and The Sudan resulting among other things from population exodus and to come up with pertinent recommendations. This request was in consequence of the information provided by the DRC Government representative at the PSC meeting, regarding the presence, in the Eastern Province, of Bororo preachers that came in from the countries of the region and the resultant security problems. Pursuant to this decision, an AU delegation proceeded to the DRC and the CAR. The delegation was also mandated to visit The Sudan, Cameroon and Chad and then submit its report. f) The Sudan i) Southern Sudan 50. Efforts to implement the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) have continued during the period under review. However, the relationship between the partners to the CPA, the National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), witnessed further strains, arising from the difficulties encountered in the implementation process of the CPA. Thus, on 11 October 2007, the SPLM suspended the participation of its ministers and presidential advisors from the Government of National Unity (GoNU). The SPLM explained its decision by what it described as deliberate tactics by the NCP to obstruct the implementation of the CPA. The SPLM called on the international community to assist in resolving the impasse. 51. On its part, the NCP, while rejecting the call to involve third parties, as joint mechanisms are provided for addressing outstanding issues, urged the SPLM to lift the suspension of its participation in the GoNU. While visiting South Africa, President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir stressed that “there will be no return to war whatsoever," and reiterated his Party’s commitment “to the full implementation of the Agreement in letter and spirit”, as well as his resolve to work together with the SPLM in genuine partnership to resolve the outstanding issues and to achieve the unity of the Sudan. On 23 October 2007, the NCP presented to the international community in Khartoum a document stating that the SPLM and the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) had also acted in violation of the CPA and delayed its implementation. 52. Clearly, while significant progress has been made in the implementation of the CPA, since 2005, through, inter alia, the adoption of the Interim National Constitution