South Sudanese parties to resume talks on final peace agreement
August 11, 2018 (JUBA) – Talks on the final implementation matrix and the review of several issues in the signed governance agreement will resume on Sunday, said the South Sudanese government spokesperson Michael Makuei Lueth.
In a meeting held in Khartoum on Friday, the IGAD Council of Ministers adopted a draft matrix on the remaining items for the final document of a revitalized peace agreement. The meeting further decided to extend the talks in Khartoum until the 19 of August.
Several Sudanese officials who are part of the mediation team were busy during the past days with the meetings of the ruling National Congress Party.
In statements he made from Khartoum on Saturday, the information minister said the South Sudanese government delegation for the peace process will resume talks on Sunday with the mediators who will be scheduling between them and the opposition groups.
He added that they ready for the talks and held several meeting to prepare for the discussions with the mediation.
“After the signing of the agreement the government delegation has been working on the outstanding issue which we managed to identify as 6 issues,” said Lueth.
He added they will give their contribution on some of these outstanding issues to the mediation and wait for others until the mediators extend their proposals.
“So we have clear positions and waiting for the mediation to sit with us to decide on all these issues,” he further stressed.
The South Sudanese Opposition Alliance said they signed the governance deal because the IGDA pledged to review some dispositions of the article (4) of the governance agreement dealing with the number of states.
“The outstanding issues are no longer an issue because we have agreed on all the issues and all what is needed is to harmonize all these documents an come with a final agreement,” said the minister.
He further said optimistic that the parties will meet the dateline determined by the IGAD Council of Ministers.
(ST)