South Sudan negotiators, Sudanese counterparts meet Burhan, General Hemeti

JUBA – Members of Sudan and South Sudan Joint Border Commission (JBC) have on Thursday met the President of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council, General Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, and, separately, the commander of the Rapid Support Force (RSF) General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo who also Burhan’s deputy.

The delegation of the joint border mechanism was led by South Sudan information minister Michael Makuei Lueth who is also the co-chair of the border commission and who has been in the Sudanese capital Khartoum since Sunday to try to find solution to border dispute South Sudan has with Sudan.

In a statement, South Sudan’s ministry of information said the delegation met al Burhan in his office in Khartoum on Thursday and briefed the Sudanese leader of what it calls a progress made during sessions of talks conducted over the days with their counterparts in Sudan stressing that General Burhan also commended the team for the progress.

“South Sudan/Sudan Joint Border Commission delegation headed by the Co-Chair of South Sudan Joint Border Commission, Michael Makuei Lueth meets with the President of the Sudan Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in his Office on Thursday,” the statement seen by Sudans Post reads in part.

The statement said “the delegation briefed the Sudanese head of state on the progress made on the ongoing meetings of the Joint Border Commission in Khartoum” and in contrast the Sudanese President of Sovereign Council “encouraged the commission to work hard to address the outstanding issues between the two countries.”

“The commission delegation also briefed the Council Vice President, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo on the activities of the commission. The team also met the Sudanese Prime Minister, Dr. Abdalla Hamdok who commended the commission for their efforts to resolve Border issues,” the statement concluded.

Following his arrival in Khartoum on Sunday, Makuei said that negotiating end to South Sudan’s dispute with Sudan over a number of border areas is not an event that end in a day, but one of the most difficult and lengthy processes that citizens should be waiting patiently.

“There are some people who think that negotiation of borders is an event and as such they are surprised when they see the committee every time moving, coming and going without tangible results being seen [while] in fact negotiation of border issues is one of the difficult issues it is not an event, [but] it is a process,” Makuei told reporters on Sunday.

Since secession of South Sudan from Sudan to become the world’s youngest country in 2011, the two countries have been contesting the border areas of Abyei, Kaka El Tijariya, Debbat El Fukhar/Megenes Mountains, Bahr El Arab, and Kafia Kingi/Hafrat El Nukhas.

During a 2012 debate on Al Jazeera TV, Taban Deng Gai, then Unity state governor, now one of South Sudan’s five vice-presidents, said disputed areas also include Panthoara (Heglig), in Unity state, and Jebeleen in Upper Nile state.