Sudanese-Ugandan committee meets in Kampala

In a press release on Friday, Sudan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Babiker Siddig said the two sides signed a number of agreements and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

The Sudanese side was headed by the Foreign Minister El-Dirdeiry Ahmed as the Ugandan side was chaired by Foreign Affairs Minister, Sam Kutesa.

Following the meetings, Kutesa praised the evolving relations between the two countries on all levels as well as rapprochement on stances regarding issues of common concern.

For his part, Ahmed described the meeting as an important milestone in relations between the two countries, saying it is the first ministerial meeting since ten years.

Following ten years of strained relations, President Yoweri Museveni visited Khartoum in September 2015 where he and al-Bashir agreed to work together to bring stability in South Sudan and the region, and to end tensions between the two countries over the issue of rebel groups.

The Year 2016, witnessed a steady rapprochement between the two countries, accelerated, by the South Sudanese civil war and their joint efforts to end the crisis in the neighbouring nation.

The visit of President Museveni to Khartoum in October 2016 to take part in the closing conference of the government-led national dialogue was seen as a turning point in the relationship between the two countries.

In September 2016, the Ugandan government facilitated informal talks between the Sudanese government and armed groups in Darfur and Sudan’s Blue Nile and South Kordofan areas, in a bid to support the African Union High Implementation Panel (AUHIP) efforts to bring peace in the east African country.

(ST)