South Sudans Kiir hails direct talks between Al-Burhan, UAE leader
July 20, 2024 (JUBA) – South Sudan President Salva Kiir has hailed the direct talks between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) leader, Mohamed bin Zayed and the Chairman of the Sovereign Council of Sudan, General Abdallah Fattah Al-Burhan.
It was the first direct talks between the two leaders after war broke out in Sudan.
“When I met Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates, I asked him to talk to his brothers in Sudan and he was receptive. I thought they spoke. Now I hear this is the first time they spoke”, said Kiir upon learning of the recent telephone communication between the two leaders.
The talks, sources at the presidency told Sudan Tribune, were facilitated by the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, an ally of UAE.
Kiir described UAE as a key player in the peace process, saying direct talks were important in relations between the two countries as they seek an end to the war.
When people talk, they find a solution to the issues of concern”, he remarked.
The UAE and South Sudan are cordial and it is one of the countries in the Gulf region where senior government officials in South Sudan, including Kiir often go for medical attention, checks and treatment.
South Sudan also had established a diplomatic presence, with a full embassy staffed with ambassadors and diplomatic staff.
On July 9, 2024, His Highness bin Zayed Al Nahyan sent a message of congratulations to Kiir on his country’s Independence Day. Other senior officials including Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, also dispatched similar messages to the South Sudanese leader on the occasion.
Trade between UAE and South Sudan has been a growing. In 2022, UAE exported $832k to South Sudan. The main products UAE exported to South Sudan were Knit T-Shirt ($29.1M), Knit Men’s Suits, ($23.8M), and Knit Babies’ Garments ($20.3M).
Over the past 5 years, the exports of the UAE to South Sudan have reportedly increased at an annualized rate of 216%, from $2.66k in 2017 to $832k in 2022.
President Kiir made the remarks on Saturday after media news report went viral on social media and in leading Sudanese media websites, reporting that Al-Burhan spoke to bin Zayed who called for “peaceful dialogue” to end Sudan’s war.
Most Sudanese officials and military leaders have always accused the UAE as the main backer of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group fighting the Sudanese military (SAF) for control of the country.The Gulf monarchy has employed RSF soldiers as mercenaries in Yemen since 2016.
The motive for taking sides remains unclear. Abu Dhabi had initially stayed neutral in the Sudanese civil war, which began in mid-April 2023. Later, several Sudanese leaders started accusing the UAE of providing various forms of support to the RSF, including hosting its leadership and propaganda teams, facilitating a regional tour for the RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, evacuating wounded RSF soldiers, and allegedly sending arms shipments to Darfur, via Chad.
The UAE denies giving military aid to the RSF, which was already well-armed before the outbreak of the civil war, and which captured huge stockpiles of equipment from the Sudanese military over the past year.
Despite this, Sudan’s military regime blames the small, but wealthy Arab nation for its defeats on the battlefield, claiming that it is not fighting the RSF alone but rather an international conspiracy.
(ST)