Dr. Riek Machar will not attend the high-level revitalization forum scheduled to take place in September, IGAD Council of Ministers has said.

The forum was proposed last month during the 31^st IGAD Extraordinary Summit to discuss full implementation of the peace agreement.

The Chairperson of IGAD Executive Council, Workneh Gebeyehu, says Dr. Riek Machar has not been invited to the forum but can send his view on the process.

“He can be represented in this process. For the time being, physically, we are not inviting Riek Machar,” said Mr Gebeyehu, who is also the Ethiopian Minister of Foreign Affairs.

He stressed that all the other opposition groups can participate by sharing their ideas.

The forum will also develop a revised and realistic timeline and implementation schedule towards a democratic election at the end of the transitional period.

“Riek Machar or other concerned authorities can come and compete for the elections. That is not our agenda; this is the agenda and the decision of South Sudanese people,” he added.

The IGAD council of ministers commenced the high-level forum in Juba on Monday.

The former first vice president went to South Africa in December last year, five month after escaping fighting in Juba.

The circumstances surrounding his stay in the foreign country are not clear.