KHARTOUM, 12 January 2010 (AFP) – Concern is mounting in the oil-producing nation over the stability of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which ended a two decades long north-south civil war.
"The CPA is at a fragile moment," said Baroness Kinnock, speaking to reporters during a three-day visit to Sudan.
"We need more international engagement and greater international interest".
The CPA is meant to pave the way in April for Sudan's first multi-party elections in 24 years, with parliamentary and regional ballots held alongside a presidential vote, ahead of a referendum on southern independence in 2011.
However, last week ten aid agencies warned of a risk of new civil war if greater efforts were not made.
"We must ratchet up our diplomatic efforts and maintain appropriate pressures on the north and the south of Sudan," she added.
"We know that escalating violence in the south, if we are realistic, does have the potential to endanger the whole process.Therefore the emphasis we have to have is on a process that is about delivering peace through dialogue rather than violence".
However, the minister said there was hope for the future.
"There is time to bring about the changes that are needed. All that is required is that we can see and hear the political will implemented," she said.
Tensions have been running high between Khartoum and Juba, still divided by the religious, ethnic and ideological differences over which the war was fought.
Sudan's oil wealth has also become a divisive issue, with southern officials often claiming that Khartoum does not allocate the revenues fairly, despite most of the production originating in the south.