Kiir asks Egypt to mobilize regional, international support for S. Sudan’s peace

January 18, 2019 (JUBA) - President, Salva Kiir Mayardit has urged Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to encourage regional and international donors to contribute to the funding of peace implementation process in South Sudan.

President, Salva Kiir Mayardit returned to Juba on Friday after a two-day visit to Cairo where he discussed with his Egyptian counterpart peace implementation process and bilateral relations between the two countries.

Kiir who arrived in Cairo on Wednesday 16 January met with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Thursday to discuss "issues of interest to the peoples of the two countries, notably the peace agreement signed recently and economic cooperation," said the South Sudanese presidency on Friday.

In a statement released after the meeting on Thursday, Egyptian presidency spokesman Bassam Radi also pointed that the two leaders discussed the implementation of the revitalized peace process signed last September.

He added that Kiir stressed that his government needs support for its efforts to implement the peace deal.

"In this regard, President Kiir valued Egypt’s efforts in the various regional and international fora to provide a better understanding of the nature of the challenges facing South Sudan, to confirm the importance of supporting stability and national reconciliation in the country, and to urge the international community to keep its pledges and commitments towards South Sudan," Radi said.

Cairo which has close relations with the Gulf countries except Qatar can press them to back Juba in the implementation of the peace process, as the Troika countries seem only willing to provide limited support to South Sudan peace process.

Also, el-Sisi has good relations with President Donald Trump that Kiir hopes he can use it to speak with him directly about the U.S. support to his country.

Diplomats in Juba say the State Department’s negative attitude impacts on the White House policy towards South Sudan.

Radi said President Kiir hailed Egpyt’s role to bring stability in Africa, as it prepares to chair the African Union in 2019.

Kiir "also commended Egypt’s pivotal role in reinforcing stability in Africa, which made it eligible to lead the African Union in 2019," said the presidential spokesperson.

The South Sudanese leader met on Thursday with representatives of the big South Sudanese community in Egypt. He briefed the community leaders about the peace implementation process and assured them that he directed his governments to dedicate all the resource of the country for peace enforcement.

I told the ministers that "whatever little that we have must be put to the implementation of the agreement," Kiir told them.

Moreover, he spoke about his government determination to convince all the holdout groups to join the revitalized peace agreement.

(ST)