April 11, 2013 (JUBA)- South Sudan has officially confirmed Friday's visit of Sudanese president, Omar Al-Bashir to the capital, Juba, and called on its citizens to exercise warm reception.
![JPEG - 24.6 kb]()
- South Sudan government spokesperson Barnaba Marial (Getty)
Bashir, South Sudan government spokesperson said, will be accompanied by a 65-member delegation of his advisors, ministers of Defense, Interior and Foreign Affairs, as well as other officials.
“We would ask for a warm reception from our citizens in honour of the visit [of the Sudanese president],” Barnaba Marial told a press conference in Juba, Thursday.
He said Bashir and his South Sudan counterpart; Salva Kiir will hold a one-to-one meeting, which will later be preceded by a ministerial meeting between the two countries, co-chaired by the two presidents.
“The two leaders will mainly discuss all the main areas of last year's Cooperation Agreement signed between two countries and the key issues within it,” he said, adding that focus will be on the nine agreements reached.
Early this week, Emad Sid-Ahmed, press secretary at the Sudanese presidency said Bashir's visit comes in response to an invitation extended by his South Sudan counterpart, Salva Kiir who visited last Khartoum on 8 October, 2011.
Bashir had planned to travel to Juba in April 2012, but it was cancelled after the seizure of Heglig by the South Sudanese army (SPLA).
The visit also take place three days before a meeting at the level of political and security committee to establish a mechanism to settle the issue of rebel groups in both countries.
Khartoum, for long refused to normalize relations with Juba, demanding the later to stop its support to rebel groups.
The two countries will open soon ten crossing points on the border before to allow free circulation of persons and goods between the two countries.
Juba last week resumed the exportation of its oil through the Sudanese port on the Red Sea and a demilitarized zone has been established on the disputed areas.
(ST).