KHARTOUM/JUBA: Sudan’s President Omar Hassan Al Bashir will visit his long-time foe South Sudan for the first time since its independence next week, an official said, cementing new deals on oil and border security between the two countries.
The African neighbours agreed this month to resume cross-border oil flows and defuse tensions that have plagued them since South Sudan seceded in July 2011 following an agreement which ended decades of civil war.
Bashir had originally planned to visit Juba a year ago but cancelled the trip when border skirmishes between the countries’ armies in April brought them close to a full-blown conflict.
He has now accepted an invitation from his southern counterpart Salva Kiir to go to South Sudan’s capital Juba next week, Bashir’s spokesman Imad Said said. He gave no date.
Bashir last visited Juba on July 9, 2011, to attend the ceremony marking South Sudan’s separation.
Reuters
