IGAD summit will address insecurity in S. Sudan: official
January 3, 2023 (JUBA) – A South Sudanese official has commended Sudan’s push for a special summit of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) on South Sudan, saying it is key in tackling insecurity.
The presidential adviser on security affairs, Tut Gatluak Manime said Sudan, the current chair of the regional bloc, was exercising its role of ensuring that peace and stability prevails in Africa’s newest nation.
He said South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and the head of Sudan’s Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan discussed bilateral matters spanning security, politics and the economy on the eve of New Year.
“The discussion was fruitful. They expressed best wishes to the people of South Sudan and Sudan and updated themselves on a host of issues. The discussions covered security, economic and political developments in the two countries. They took stock of the progress made in the implementation of the peace agreements, the Juba peace Agreement, and the revitalized peace brokered by the Sudanese government in 2018,” said Manime.
He added, “These are important updates”.
Al-Burhan, the aide explained, agreed to persuade Kenya’s William Ruto to advocate for a special summit of the IGAD member states on South Sudan.
“It was really a good gesture of Sudan to ask Kenya to convene a summit for south Sudan. We have a role to play in preserving peace and security in the region. South Sudan sits in a strategic place in the east, central, and North Africa. We have a market, big market in the region and there is a good environment for investment in all sectors in this country,” he noted.
On Monday, the Kenyan president said “the region would commit itself to hold a special IGAD Summit focusing on South Sudan before the end of this month to assess the status of implementation of the “Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan”.
The summit, according to Ruto, would also address “any emerging issues”.
The revitalized peace agreement in September 2018 was brokered by Sudan and Uganda as the guarantors but was signed by the South Sudanese parties in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Coordinated and sustained efforts have been exerted, with Sudan leading the process each time the process stalled but key issues remained unimplemented by the parties.
Sudan is the current chair of IGAD, an eight-country bloc which includes governments from the Horn of Africa, Nile Valley as well as the Great Lakes region.
(ST)