South Sudan preparing to receive Sudanese president despite new attack

April 1, 2013 (JUBA) – South Sudan is preparing to receive a much trailed visit from the president of neighboring Sudan with which it has signed an agreement to end dispute over list of outstanding post secession issues, despite reports of new ground attacks resulting in the loss of lives and properties in disputed areas expected to be on top of issues the heads of state will discuss.

The accusation comes as South Sudan announced that it is expecting the imminent visit of Sudanese president Omer Al Bashir, in response to repeated invitations extended to him by his South Sudanese counterpart, Salva Kiir Mayardit.

It will be Bashir’s first visit to Juba since South Sudan gained independence in 2011 after an overwhelming vote for separation as part of a 2005 peace accord, which ended over two decades of civil war.

South Sudan’s information minister, Barnaba Marial Benjamin, told Sudan Tribune on Sunday from Nairobi, Kenya, that his country had expected the Sudanese president to visit Juba on Monday but that Easter holiday, the opening of Sudanese parliament and a scheduled function with Qatar had pushed the date back.

Marial, the government’s official spokesperson, described the upcoming visit of the Sudanese president as very important, adding it will open the potential for future cooperation between the two countries so the neighbours can live peacefully side by side.

The two heads of state are expected to discuss the way forward on all the outstanding issues between the two nations, notably the status of Abyei and other disputed border areas.

Other issues to be discussed during the visit, the minister said, include the need to immediately and unconditionally operationalise the Safe Demilitarised Buffer Zones to avoid complaints of border incursions and to allow free movement of people and goods.

“The visit will not only open up more hopes for progress on current negotiations especially the recent implementation matrix but will also raise hopes for future cooperation in different areas that could be achieved by the countries”, he explained without giving a new date for Bashir’s visit.

(ST)

All Africa – Sudan: South Sudan Preparing to Receive Sudanese President Despite New Attack