The meeting in Abu Dhabi took place six days after Kiir’s visit to the Gulf state on February 2, originally scheduled for three days, for bilateral talks.
According to SSBC, the two leaders discussed ways to strengthen cooperation between their countries and agreed to continue talks on key issues raised during the meeting.
“The two leaders also discussed ways to enhance bilateral relations between South Sudan and the United Arab Emirates,” said a statement shared by the outlet, quoting South Sudan’s Presidential Affairs Minister Chol Ajongo Mawut.
The minister also revealed that a UAE delegation will soon visit Juba to engage with South Sudanese ministers and accelerate joint ventures in agriculture, mining, and infrastructure development.
However, the statement did not disclose whether the meeting resulted in any formal agreements.
In April last year, UN experts reported that South Sudan was close to securing a $13 billion loan from an Emirati company in exchange for its oil. The controversial deal has faced widespread condemnation, but the Kiir administration has remained silent on the matter.
Following Kiir’s recent trip to the UAE, opposition leader General Laraka Machar Turoal, head of the Patriots’ Resistance Movement (PRM), criticized the government over the “illicit and illegal” loan.
