ABYEI, Sudan, July 22 (Xinhua) -- The two peace partners in Sudan, the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and the former rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), reiterated Wednesday their commitment to the decision of international arbitration panel.

    The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) Wednesday made a ruling of the disputed oil-rich area of Abyei between northern and southern Sudan.

    The ruling left mostly intact the northern border of Abyei, but redefined its eastern and western boundaries, annexing the shared area to the Misseriya, which is the biggest Arab Bedouin tribe in the area.

    "We respect this decision, and this decision is final and binding because all the parties agreed from the beginning that the decision of the court was binding and final," said Mutrif Saddig, undersecretary in the Sudanese Foreign Ministry who represented the central Sudanese government led by the NCP.

    "Also, the decision guarantees the rights of Misseriya pastor a lists... We think the decision is a step forward," the Sudanese official said.

    Meanwhile, Deng Alor, a major member of the SPLM and also an official of the foreign ministry in the central government in Khartoum, said that "the decision ... is binding on the parties".

    He added that "the SPLM and the people of this area will respect and implement that decision with regards to the northern boundaries."

    The oil-rich Abyei area had been a center of dispute between the NCP and the SPLM since the two parties inked the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005 ending a 21-year-long civil war between northern and southern Sudan.