Juba, Khartoum vow to tighten security cooperation

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir on Thursday met his Sudan counterpart Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan to discuss ways of stabilising political, economic and security cooperation between the two countries.

The two leaders met in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, where they reiterated their commitment to ensuring freedom of movement, residence, acquisition of property and employment for all citizens of their respective countries, Mayen Dut Wol, the undersecretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, told journalists.

Mr Wol said President Kiir and Al-Burhan, who is the chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council of Sudan, deliberated on key issues ranging from the implementation of the 2012 cooperation agreement, to trade and security along the border corridors between the two neighbouring countries.

“Security of Sudan and South Sudan is our priority, as the two countries are closely intertwined, and instability or insecurity within one country can spill across the borders,” the leaders said in a joint statement.

Also read:Sudan junta seeks support amid calls for elections

The two leaders also emphasised the importance of maintaining stability and security along their common border. They also agreed to establish a joint security force to prevent infiltration of illegal weapons.

Frontier regions – Upper Nile in South Sudan and Darfur in Sudan as well as disputed Abyei – are often rocked by deadly intercommunal conflicts that spill over the borders.

Read:24 dead over conflict in Sudan-South Sudan border state

The two countries also agreed to address other relevant agreements, especially the mechanisms to speed up the implementation of the recently extended peace roadmap.

Read:Juba, Khartoum agree on drawing Abyei border

President Kiir and his First Vice-President Riek Machar, and other parties to the 2018 revitalized peace agreement in August 2022 agreed to extend the transitional period, which was due to expire in December 2023. The transitional period will now elapse in 2025, but the parties are to hold elections in February 2024.

Dafallah Al-Haj Ali, Sudan’s undersecretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the meeting focused on ways to fast-track the implementation of the peace agreements, security issues and bilateral cooperation.

In 2020, South Sudan’s government helped mediate peace between the Sudan transitional government led by Al-Burhan and various armed opposition groups in Juba.

After years of civil war, South Sudan seceded from its northern neighbour in 2011. However, the status of Abyei, the disputed oil-rich region on the border between the two countries, is yet to be determined.

In September 2012, Sudan and South Sudan signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa under the patronage of the African Union. The agreement included a package of understandings relating to security, citizens’ status, border and economic issues and others relating to oil and trade.