by Fayez el-Zaki Hassan KHARTOUM, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- An international meeting on Sudan, which was held in New York on Friday, has availed a new opportunity to reaffirm the international support for Sudan's peace process and impelled the ongoing arrangements for the south Sudan referendum, slated for Jan. 9, 2011. The issues reviewed during the meeting together with the meeting's outcome received acceptance from the major partners of Sudan's peace, the National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM). The participants of the international meeting on Sudan, which was called for by the United Nations, praised the commitments of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) parties to the peace process in Sudan and the progresses which had been made in tackling the complicated issues during the past five years. PEACE PARTNERS COMMITMENTS REMOVE DOUDTS 'The meeting has come out with important results including commitments of the two partners to the CPA, to conduct the referendum on self-determination for south Sudan as scheduled, together with their commitments to discuss the outstanding issues between them and not to return to the war,' Atim Garang, a leading SPLM member and deputy speaker of the Sudanese National Assembly ( parliament), told Xinhua. 'These commitments by the two partners were made before high- level representatives from all the world's countries and organizations and I believe that they are credible commitments,' the Sudanese MP added. He further said that the international community's demand for conducting the referendum as scheduled was a positive matter because the international community urged the CPA's implementation, inked between the north and south Sudan, so that there would be no return to war. Garang hailed New York's international meeting on Sudan as removing the shadow cast on delay of the referendum, saying that ' this matter has removed the tension which was standing between the two partners.' Rabie Abdel Atti, a leading NCP member, told Xinhua that the New York meeting carried many positive results in the interests of Sudan and its major issues, in particular the implementation of the CPA. 'The most important outcomes are the commitment by the two partners to conduct the referendum as scheduled and the international community's pledge to support the national and regional efforts to reach a peaceful settlement for the conflict in Darfur,' he said. 'The meeting focused on the international community's support to Sudan, how to cooperate with it to make the referendum successful and prevent the north and south Sudan from returning to the war. The focus was also on the Darfur issue and support of Khartoum's new strategy to achieve peace in the region,' he added. INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOR REFERNDA AS SCHEDULED The participants of the international meeting also acknowledged the Sudanese CPA partners' commitment to exert all possible efforts to conduct the referendum on self-determination for southern Sudan as scheduled and in a manner that reflects the willingness of the southern Sudanese and the Abyei citizens. The participants further expressed their strong support for the two parties and affirmed their commitment to respect the results of the two referenda and to support the Sudanese people to achieve sustainable peace in all parts of the country during post- referendum period. Khalid Saad, Editor-in-chief of the Sudanese daily Al-Jarida, told Xinhua that the outcome of the international meeting on Sudan has removed the fear of the Sudanese people regarding disagreement of the two partners on the issue of the south Sudan referendum. 'With these results and the two sides' commitments, Sudan will guarantee a free and credible referendum on self-determination for the southern Sudan in Jan. 2011,' he said. 'The international community has managed to come out with strong commitments from the Sudanese peace partners to conduct the referendum as scheduled and recognize the results whatever they are,' he added. 'However, these commitments need close follow up by the big countries, besides removal of all the barriers hampering the organization of the referendum,' Saad noted. On Jan. 9, 2011, a referendum on self-determination for southern Sudan is expected to be conducted simultaneously with a referendum on the Abyei area. The UN Secretary General Ban Ki- Moon has recently appointed a panel to monitor the upcoming self- determination referenda which were stipulated by the CPA in a bid to end the two-decade civil war between the north and south Sudan. 