South Sudan vows to strengthen bilateral relations with Sudan
August 2, 2022 (JUBA) – South Sudan has vowed to strengthen its existing relations with Sudan, more than a decade after it seceded from the latter.
President Salva Kiir, in a message delivered through his security advisor, assured the Chairman of the Sovereign Council of Sudan, Gen Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan that Juba would not support hostile groups seeking to destabilize Khartoum.
“Our relations with Sudan are growing exponentially because the two countries and leaders, citizens and everyone aspire and support the vision of two sides living side by side as brothers and sisters mutually committed to ensuring they are economically viable and stable security wise”, the presidential advisor on security, Tut Gatluak Manime explained on Tuesday.
He said South Sudan had completed paying what it owed Sudan under the Transitional Financial Arrangements (TFA), which demonstrated the young nation’s commitment to negotiate new arrangements in “a brotherly spirit”.
“The leadership under President Salva Kiir and his team trusts our technical teams to embark on discussions on the joint technical arrangements”, explained Manime.
“Our relations with Sudan are strong, they are good. You saw this yesterday [Monday] when the Secretary General of the Sudanese Transitional Sovereign Council, Mohammed Al-Ghali Ali and the Oil minister, Eng. Mohamed Abdalla came here with a special message from the chairman of the sovereign council, Gen Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan,” he stressed.
During the meeting with the Sudanese delegation, Kiir reportedly vowed not to allow rebels use South Sudanese territory to disorganise Sudan.
The president’s assurance came barely two weeks a group calling itself South Sudan People’s Movement/Army (SSPM/A) attacked Mayom County in Unity State, killing the county commissioner and dozens of government soldiers.
Reports that the rebel group operates from neighbouring was dismissed by SSPM/A. The group also denied claims that it attacked Mayom County on Saturday last week, describing it as “propaganda” from local government officials seeking the national government’s approval for deployment of more troops to the area.
(ST)