A.U welcomes planned Kiir-Machar retreat in Ugandan

JUBA – The African Union (AU) has welcomed the decision by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to hold a meeting between South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit and his first deputy Dr. Riek Machar Teny to discuss contentious issues in the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement.

Early today, a South Sudan presidency official told Sudans Post on condition of anonymity that Kiir and Machar have both received an invitation from the Ugandan President Museveni for a retreat aimed at discussing various contentious points on the security arrangements and conduct of elections.

While the date of the meeting remains unclear, the senior presidency official said the meeting between the two leaders, which will also be attended by other signatories to the revitalized peace agreement, is expected to take place in mid-February or in early March in Uganda.

“H.E President Salva Kiir Mayardit and First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar have received an invitation to travel to the Ugandan capital Kampala for a retreat to discuss points of disagreements over the conduct of elections as stated by the parties in 2023,” the official who requested not to be named said.

“But I cannot confirm as to when the meeting will take place because the president’s schedule is very full but it will likely take place in mid-February or early March this year,” the official further added.

In a communiqué, the African Union said it “Welcomes the efforts of H.E. President Yoweri Museveni and his intention to convene a retreat in Kampala, Uganda, for the South Sudan Presidency to resolve the outstanding areas of the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement and encourages IGAD to support these efforts.”

It also urged the South Sudan presidency to “to explore all possible avenues to provide the needed resources, including funds and food, to complete the training of forces for the unified national army; and in this regard, underlines the importance of steadfast efforts towards resolving all the issues concerning the unified command and control structure, and force ratios to speed up the formation of the armed forces.”