JUBA — South Sudan’s Vice President for Economic Cluster, Dr. Benjamin Bol Mel, jetted to Juba on Sunday after a three-day working visit to the United Arab Emirates, where he secured deals in oil, agriculture, trade, banking, and finance, as well as infrastructure.
During his visit, VP Bol Mel met with his counterpart, Sheikh Shakhboot Nahyan Al Nahyan, the UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, along with a number of other UAE officials.
Addressing journalists upon arrival at Juba International Airport on Sunday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Amb. Monday Semaya K. Kumba stated that the visit undertaken under directive of President Salva Kiir aimed to follow up on the outcomes of his last visit to the UAE in June.
“Secondly, to enhance the economic cooperation between the Republic of Sudan and the UAE in different fields, with a main focus on areas such as the oil industry, agriculture, banking and finance, and trade, investment, and infrastructure development, among others,” Kumba said.
He said VP Bol Mel also delivered President Kiir’s letter to his counterpart in the UAE.
“And the third objective of the visit was actually also to brief the leadership of the UAE about the current political and economic situation in the country,” he added.
Kumba explained that during their stay in Dubai, VP Bol had a meeting with his counterpart and exchanged views on a number of issues of mutual concern and benefit.
“Again, His Excellency the Vice President also managed to witness the signing of a very important document, which is the memorandum of understanding between the Bank of South Sudan and the Central Bank of UAE,” he noted.
He disclosed that the MOU was signed by Dr. Addis Ababa Othio, the Governor of the Bank of South Sudan, and the UAE’s Mr. Saif Hamid Al Dehairi, who is the Assistant Governor of the Central Bank in the UAE for banking operations and supervision and support services.
“This MOU is very important to guide the financial cooperation and banking cooperation between our two regulatory banks and also to support the efforts of our Central Bank in modernizing the financial system in the country, including other important areas,” Kumba stated.
“The visit was very successful, and with this, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the government and the people of the UAE for organizing this visit and for the success of the visit, and we will continue to follow up on the outcomes of this visit for the best benefit of our two countries.”
