South Sudan foreign minister holds low-key talks in UAE
July 20, 2026 (ABU DHABI) – South Sudan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, James Pitia Morgan, held separate meetings with UAE Minister of State Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan Al Nahyan and officials from the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) to discuss bilateral relations and economic cooperation.
During the meeting with Sheikh Shakhboot at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the two sides discussed ways to enhance joint cooperation across various fields, particularly in developing economic and trade partnerships, investment opportunities, and sustainable development.
The two officials also discussed regional and international developments of mutual interest, emphasizing the importance of boosting cooperation to support peace, security, and stability in Africa and the wider region.
In a separate engagement, Morgan met with ADFD officials to strengthen cooperation in support of South Sudan’s development priorities, particularly to promote economic development and investment. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing collaboration and agreed to maintain close coordination to advance areas of mutual interest.
Notably, the South Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation omitted any mention of the meeting with Sheikh Shakhboot in its official statement, a diplomatic engagement that was reported only by the UAE’s official news agency, WAM.
The diplomatic engagements in Abu Dhabi take place amid latent strains in South Sudan’s relations with the Sudanese government in Port Sudan. Tensions have steadily escalated over the increasing presence of Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighters along the shared border, alongside mounting accusations from Sudanese officials that Juba has quietly aligned itself with a UAE-backed regional axis, including Ethiopia, Chad, and Libya, to support the paramilitary group in its war against the Sudanese army.
These grievances were openly aired by former Sudanese Minister of Minerals, Mohamed Bashir Abunommo, who previously accused South Sudan of allowing the UAE to establish an “aggression base” near the border under the guise of a newly opened field hospital in Northern Bahr el Ghazal state.
Abunommo alleged that the facility’s hidden purpose was to stockpile military equipment for the RSF, mirroring logistics setups in Chad, and further accused Juba of turning a blind eye to the recruitment of South Sudanese citizens into the paramilitary ranks and to facilitating gold smuggling.