South Sudan president to visit Sudan in August
July 30, 2017 (JUBA) – South Sudan President Salva Kiir will visit neighbouring Sudan in the next month of August, said the foreign minister, reversing initial reports speculating that Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir had accepted to visit Juba.
Minister Deng Alor Kuol told Sudan Tribune on Sunday that he expects the visit take in August and the exact date will be made public once the preparations currently underway are completed.
“The President of the Republic is expected to visit Khartoum for bilateral talks. The Preparations are underway to fix the date. This will take place in August if they are completed,” foreign minister Kuol said when asked whether he was aware of reports about Kiir’s visit to Sudan.
His comments follow statements by Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth on Friday in which he said preparations for the visit of the president are underway but that no time has been fixed.
Lueth said the upcoming visit of President Kiir was in response to an invitation from the Sudanese president Omer al-Bashir. The agenda of the upcoming meeting between the two leaders remains unclear.
In September 2012, Sudan and South Sudan signed a comprehensive cooperation deal in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, under the patronage of the East African regional bloc (IGAD).
Observers are keen to say the meetings would focus on security and humanitarian efforts as well as trade and economic issues.
But it would also be an opportunity for the two leaders to discuss and lay out mechanisms to expedite how they could cooperate to implement non-aggression pact, demanding either side not to host, arm and provide logistical and military supports to hostile group with ambition to destabilize security of the other, or possessing political ambition to ascend to power through the use of unconstitutional means.
Last May, Khartoum accused Juba of supporting a rebel attack by two Darfurian groups who organised a coordinated operation in East and North Darfur states. But South Sudanese officials said they only asked the rebels to leave the country upon a Sudanese request.
(ST)