KHARTOUM, Aug. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice Thursday confirmed her government's readiness to cooperate with Sudan to handle pending issues ahead of mutual relations, the official SUNA news agency reported here.

    Rice made the remarks in a message she sent to Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Othman Ismail, said SUNA.

    According to the report, Rice confirmed in the message that the US administration will continue its cooperation with the Sudanese government to follow up the implementation of the southern Sudan peace agreement and the normalization of the situations in sudan's western Darfur region as well as the mutual relations.

    She pointed out that her visit to Sudan recently gave her the opportunity to see the situations in Sudan on the ground, which hasmade her more ready to work together with the Sudanese authorities for better relations.

    Rice arrived in Khartoum last July 21 on her first visit to Sudan since she took office at the beginning of this year. Enditem