Assembly/AU/6(XV) Page 11 that at this present session of the Assembly, which is the last one before the holding the self-determination referendum for Southern Sudan, the Heads of State and Government renew their commitment to assist the Sudanese parties and people to successfully meet the challenges facing them and develop a clear vision of the implications of the new situation that will arise from the referendum on the region, as well as on the Continent as a whole. 50. The normalization of relations between Chad and The Sudan continued and was consolidated, thanks to the political will shown by the leaders of both countries. The Assembly will recall that meetings between experts of the two countries, one in Khartoum in December 2009, and another in N’djamena in January 2010, led to the signing, on 15 January 2010, of the “N’djamena Agreement on the normalization of Relations between Chad and The Sudan” as well as an “Additional Protocol on the Securing of their Border”. On 8 February 2010, President Idriss Déby Itno paid an official visit to Khartoum, where he held talks with his Sudanese counterpart, Omar Hassan Al Bashir. On 26 May 2010, President Déby Itno again travelled to Khartoum to attend the swearing-in ceremony of President Al Bashir. Furthermore, in the spirit of the Accord Agreement, negotiations were set in motion between JEM (Justice and Equality Movement) and The Sudanese Government under the auspices of the Chadian Facilitation, and resulted in a Framework Agreement endorsed in N’Djamena on 20 February 2010, and officially signed in Doha on 23 February 2010. The Sudan, for its part, took measures to facilitate a meeting between Chad and its “armed groups”. 51. The Assembly may wish to commend Presidents Idriss Déby ltno and Omar Hassan Al Bashir for their courageous political decision to normalise relations between their two countries, and encourage them to persevere on the path of dialogue and consultation. Thus, the developments in their relations square perfectly with the Tripoli Plan of Action of 31 August 2009, which set forth a number of measures for normalising relations between the two countries. 52. In Côte d’Ivoire, the crisis exit process has been mired in a deadlock since January and Frebruary 2010, due to the deficient functioning of the independent Election Commission (IEC), a situation denounced by the Office of the President of the Republic. This situation culminated in the dissolution on both the IEC and the Government on 12 February, followed by protest marches by opposition youths in several localities of the country. 53. During his visit to Abidjan on 22 February 2010, the Facilitator of the InterIvorian Dialogue, President Blaise Compaoré, helped the Ivorian parties to reach an agreement on measures to reactivate the electoral process, in particular, the installation of an Independent Electoral Commission run by a new management team, formation of a new Government, resumption of consideration of petitions regarding the voters’ register and elaboration of an election calendar paving the way for the first round of the Presidential elections to be held by late April/early May 2010. The new IEC indeed installed on 25 February, while the new Government was fully constituted on 4 March 2010. However, conflicting positions relating to the verification of the voters’ register, disputes, disarmament of former combatants and the reunification of the country prior to the elections, continued and delayed the adoption of an election calendar. The new provisional electoral roll, which includes