South Sudan's president to visit Khartoum on Saturday

October 29, 2014 (KHARTOUM) - South Sudan’s president, Salva Kiir Mayardit, will arrive in Khartoum on Saturday to discuss outstanding issues between the two countries and the ongoing conflict in South Sudan.

South Sudan’s president, Salva Kiir, is accompanied by his Sudanese counterpart Omer Hassan al-Bashir (L) after arriving at Khartoum Airport on 5 April 2014 (Photo: Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)

Sudan’s foreign minister, Ali Karti, said in press statements on Wednesday that Kiir will arrive in Khartoum on Saturday, adding “the visit was previously delayed due to health conditions of the Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir not for any political reasons”.

On 11 August, Bashir underwent a knee replacement surgery. He resumed his official duties after a period of convalescence that extended for more than a month.

Karti renewed accusations of Juba’s support to rebel groups in South Kordofan state, pointing that Khartoum still has doubts that South Sudan continues to support Sudanese rebels.

“We do not have enough evidence that South Sudan does not support rebels”, he stressed.

Last April, the Sudanese foreign ministry said Juba government uses the combatants of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) in its war against the rebel SPLM in opposition particularly in Unity state.

Since the independence of the South Sudan in July 2011, the two countries used to trade accusations of over a number of outstanding issues.

The border states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile state have been the scene of a violent conflict since 2011 when fighting broke out between the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) and Sudanese army (SAF).

Karti pointed that Sudan continued to appeal to South Sudan to prevent rebels’ presence inside its territory and stop providing them with any supplies, saying the visit will tackle the implementation of the cooperation agreements signed between the countries besides the ongoing conflict in South Sudan.

In September 2012, Sudan and South Sudan signed a series of cooperation agreements which covered oil, citizenship rights, security issues, banking, and border trade among others.

After several months of an apparent setback, the two countries, in March 2013, signed an implementation matrix for these cooperation agreements.

Karti said the internal conflict in South Sudan reduced oil production by half, disclosing he is leading a joint action with his South Sudanese counterpart to cancel Sudan’s foreign debt.

The Sudanese minister further said they will tour all creditor countries, noting that the economic sanctions imposed by the United States on Sudan since 1997 would hinder their efforts.

(ST)