Clinton to visit South Sudan this week to “encourage” talks with Khartoum
July 30, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – The United States (US) Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is due to visit South Sudan as part of a major Africa trip this week in order to “encourage progress” in talks with its northern neighbour Sudan.
Clinton will be the most senior US official to visit South Sudan since it became an independent state in July last year after voting to secede from former war foe Sudan as part of a 2005 peace agreement, which Washington helped to broker.
The Department of State said Clinton will meet with President Salva Kiir during her visit to South Sudan to “reaffirm US support and to encourage progress in negotiations with Sudan to reach agreement on issues related to security, oil and citizenship”.
The new neighbours have been negotiating under a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) deadline due on 2 August to resolve a host of post-secession issues including transportation of southern oil via Sudan, disputed border regions and citizenship.
But the African Union (AU) mediated talks, which followed serious border fighting in April, appear more and more unlikely to meet the deadline which may prompt the UNSC to carry out its threats of imposing non-military sanctions on both countries.
In a separate context, the US government released on Monday its 2011 Report on International Religious Freedom which once again branded Sudan along with others including China, Saudi Arabia and Eritrea as “countries of particular concerns for alleged violation of religious freedom”.
(ST)