Sudan, S. Sudan border commission to meet next week

November 13, 2017 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s Technical Committee for Border Demarcation (TCBD) has said the Joint Border Commission (JBC) between Sudan and South Sudan would meet next week in Khartoum.

The semi-official Sudan Media Center (SMC) has quoted the TCBD chairman and Co-chair of the JBC Abdalla al-Sadiq as saying the meeting will discuss ways to accelerate border demarcation process between the two countries.

He pointed out that the JBC has made great progress in its work during the previous meetings, saying 80% of the 2,400 kilometres borders between the two countries have been marked on paper.

According to al-Sadiq, the next meeting of the committee will be held in Juba at the end of December.

Claimed and disputed areas of the Sudan and South Sudan border include Abyei, 14-Mile area, Joudat Al-Fakhar, Jebel al-Migainais, Kaka, and Kafia Kingi enclave (Hofrat al-Nahas).

Since South Sudan’s independence, the agreed border between the two countries is not yet demarcated (marked on the ground). Also, talks between the two sides continue to delimit the remaining 20% disputed boundary.

In September 2012, both Sudan and South Sudan signed a series of cooperation agreements, which covered oil, citizenship rights, security issues, banking, border trade among others.

In March 2013, the two countries signed an implementation matrix for these cooperation agreements. However, the execution of the agreements didn’t go according to the plan.

South Sudan seceded from Sudan on July 9th, 2011 following a referendum on whether the semi-autonomous region should remain a part of the country or become independent. 99% of the southern voters chose independence.

Relations between the two nations soured after South Sudan’s independence following a series of disputes over a number of issues.

(ST)