South Sudan to pay off outstanding debt to Sudan

by Denis Elamu

JUBA, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan on Friday said it will benefit more from its oil sales by paying off outstanding debt with Sudan after the two neighbors agreed to implement the hitherto stalled cooperation agreement.

"The government of South Sudan has accepted to pay off the outstanding arrears which were not paid to the government of Sudan," said the Minister of Information Michael Makuei.

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and his Sudan counterpart Omar al-Bashir met on Monday in the Sudanese capital Khartoum and agreed to expedite implementation of the cooperation agreement signed in 2012 that covered security, trade and oil issues.

According to the South Sudan Ministry of Finance, arrears owed to Sudan are estimated at 301.2 million U.S. dollars this fiscal year, of which 171.8 million dollars will be provided through in-kind shipments and 12.1 million dollars in direct payments.

Makuei disclosed that Sudan will also pay off the outstanding pension arrears of South Sudanese civil servants who have not been paid for long service before South Sudan won independence from Sudan in 2011.

"There are a lot of South Sudanese who were working in Sudan and are on pension and these people have been facing difficulties in receiving their pensions. So it is also agreed a mechanism is worked out they will be paid by Sudanese government," he revealed.

Makuei also said that customs and migration offices will be established in the 11 crossing points between the two countries by December.