Press Release from GOSS Mission to the U.S.A & the U.N

Government of Southern Sudan

Mission to the United States and the United Nations

Office of Information and Public Relations

For Immediate Release January 26, 2011

A significant recognition by the International Observer and Monitors of the Southern Sudan Referendum been conducted in a credible and transparent procedure that meets the international standard and laws, positioning South Sudan on the stage as a new nation to be born.

On January 21, 2011 Ambassador Johnny Carson, Assistant Secretary of State for the African Affairs invited the Charge D'Affairs of Sudan Embassy and the Head of the Government of Southern Sudan to his office at the Department of State and conveyed a congratulatory message from the President of the United States of America extolling both signatories of the CPA for conducting peaceful, credible and transparent referendum for the people of Southern Sudan.

Furthermore, President Obama addressed the State of the Union last night January 25^th, 2011 and made the following remarks on Sudan:

"Recent events have shown us that what sets us apart must not just be our power - it must be the purpose behind it. In South Sudan - with our assistance - the people were finally able to vote for independence after years of war. Thousands lined up before dawn. People danced in the streets. One man who lost four of his brothers at war summed up the scene around him: "This was a battlefield for most of my life. Now we want to be free." President Barack Obama, State of the Union Address, 2011.

The Government of Southern Sudan Mission to the United Sates of America and the United Nations acknowledges the catalyst supervision role of the U.S. Government along with the International Community to end one of the longest civil war in the world, by the historic signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005.

The interim period of six years is fast approaching its end (July 9^th, 2011) with the successful conduct of a peaceful Southern Sudan Referendum from January 9^th through 15^th, 2011.

The Head of the Government of Southern Sudan Mission, H.E Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth was honored with an invitation to the State of the Union and is indebted to President Obama and all patriotic people of the United States of America for their commitment to the cause of the suffering people across the globe and particularly in Southern Sudan.