Sudan, South Sudan leaders reaffirm mutual support in phone call
March 28, 2025 (JUBA) – The leaders of South Sudan and Sudan reaffirmed their commitment to mutual support and non-aggression during a phone call, South Sudanese officials said on Friday, emphasizing interdependence despite political challenges in both nations.
South Sudan President Salva Kiir and Sudan’s Sovereign Council head, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, spoke by phone on Thursday.
Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth told a news conference in Juba that regional leaders, including al-Burhan, had contacted Kiir regarding South Sudan’s 2018 peace agreement implementation and the current situation.
“[Al-Burhan called] his excellency President Salva to congratulate him on his steadfastness in handling the situation and pledged to continue to provide support that ensures peace and stability continue to prevail in the country,” Makuei said.
He added that Sudan reiterated its commitment to using mechanisms established under a 2012 Cooperation Agreement to resolve disputes, primarily through both countries’ foreign, defence, and interior ministries.
South Sudan’s Foreign Minister Ramadan Mohamed Abdallah Goch separately confirmed the call, stating the two leaders pledged mutual support despite prevailing political, economic, and military situations.
“His Excellency President Salva Kiir Mayardit and his brother, his excellency General Abdel Fattah Al Burhan… have reiterated commitment to working together to support each other and to promote peace and protect territorial integrity, respect sovereignty and to uphold non-interference in the internal affairs of the other,” Goch explained.
Goch noted the leaders vowed that “negative forces” in either country should not derail peaceful relations or regional stability.
He also mentioned Kiir had received calls offering condolences for the recent death of Lieutenant David Majur Dak Thel in Upper Nile state, with leaders commending Kiir for urging calm.
“[Sudan] is not just our next-door neighbour but a country from which we seceded. We were, until July 9, 2011, one people, and we are still one people, though we are being administered and governed under two different political arrangements,” Goch added.
South Sudan seceded from Sudan in 2011. Following border clashes, the two nations signed the Cooperation Agreement, including a non-aggression pact, in 2012. The deal, mediated by the African Union (AU) with international backing, outlines principles for bilateral relations.
Sudan, along with Uganda, was also a guarantor of South Sudan’s 2018 revitalized peace agreement.
Diplomats note that the 2012 pact resulted from intense international pressure, with China, the United States, and European envoys participating alongside the AU in mediation efforts aimed at averting renewed conflict.