South Sudan president to visit Russia in September

August 30, 2023 (JUBA) – South Sudan President Salva Kiir will next month visit Russia for talks with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin in a shift in relations with the United States and western allies since its 2011 secession.

The acting Foreign Affairs minister, Deng Dau Malek said an invitation has been extended to the South Sudanese leader to visit Russia for bilateral talks, adding that arrangements are underway for him to undertake the mission in September.

“The ambassador of Russia [to Juba] came for a courtesy call and to brief me on the process in preparation for the upcoming visit of His Excellency President Salva Kiir to Russia. There has been a long invitation for His Excellency the President by his counterpart to visit Moscow,” Malek told reporters on Tuesday.

He added, “Now preparations are underway for him [Kiir] to go [to Russia]”.

Meanwhile the acting Foreign Affairs ministry spokesperson Denis Dumo Scopas said the Russian ambassador to Juba, Vladlen Semivolos held talks with authorities in South Sudan to discuss the possibility of bilateral collaboration in many fields.

“This morning, the Acting Minister, Hon. Deng Dau Malek, met with the Non-Resident Ambassador of the Russian Federation to South Sudan, H.E. Ambassador Vladlen Semivolos. The visit of H.E. the Ambassador is very important to prepare the state visit of his Excellency, President Salva Kiir Mayardit, to the Russian Federation next month”, he told reporters in Juba.

Kiir was recently in South Africa to attend the BRICS summit of world leaders. BRICS is a grouping of the world economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa formed by the 2010 addition of South Africa to the predecessor BRIC.

(ST)