President Elect Omar Hassan Al-Bashir was sworn into office of Sudan's President at the National Assembly on 27 May.

Mr. Al-Bashir arrived at the Parliament a little before noon on Thursday, following delegations from mainly African countries, some of which were represented by their heads of state, and other representatives, including those of China, Egypt, Qatar and Libya.

Presidents from neighbouring Ethiopia and Chad, and Malawi, Djibouti and Mauritania attended the inauguration, where President Al-Bashir addressed the audience for about 30 minutes.

Congratulating Salva Kiir Mayardit for winning the seat as President of Southern Sudan, Mr. Al-Bashir vowed commitment to the referendum slated to be held in January, 2011.

The president also assured to work towards successful implementation of the remaining benchmarks of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, and vowed support for the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) for stability in Darfur.

The United Nations was represented by UNMIS Special Representative Haile Menkerios and UNAMID Head Ibrahim Gambari.

Mr. Al-Bashir, nominated by the National Congress Party, had won the 2010 April national elections by 68.24 per cent.