KHARTOUM, Mar 30 (Reuters) - Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir agreed on Friday to accept African efforts to end Sudan's 18-year-old civil war and establish a "just and lasting peace", Sudan's state television reported.
Bashir held talks with his Kenyan counterpart, Daniel arap Moi, who chairs a regional grouping of African states that is trying to mediate between the warring factions in Sudan's bloody conflict.
"The two countries agreed that the search for a just and lasting peace in Sudan should continue under the auspices of IGAD and under the chairmanship of President Moi," a joint communique said.
The Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD), a grouping of East African states, has sponsored so far fruitless talks to bridge the gap between the Islamist government in Khartoum and southern rebels fighting for greater autonomy for the largely Christian and animist south since 1995.
Up to two million people are estimated to have died in fighting and war-related famine and disease.
Bashir has in the past expressed doubts about the IGAD initiative. The Khartoum government has also expressed support for a separate peace initiative launched jointly by Egypt and Libya in 1999.
Egypt, which along with Libya has been excluded from IGAD talks, insists IGAD co-ordinate its efforts with the Egyptian-Libyan initiative.
Egypt, which shares Nile water with Sudan, has often said it considers Sudan's unity as vital to its national security.