Al Bashir orders Sudan-South Sudan border opened

President Al Bashir has ordered the opening of the Sudanese-South Sudanese border. It is the first time since the secession of South Sudan in 2011 that the border has been open.

The Sudanese News Agency (Suna) reported on Wednesday that Al Bashir issued a decree ordering the opening of the border and directed the concerned authorities to take the necessary measures for the implementation of this decision on the ground.

There is still no agreement over the 2,010-km border between the two countries. Both sides claim areas rich with oil.

Tensions between Sudan and South Sudan took off last week after Al Bashir directed to reduce the transit fees for the oil produced in South Sudan. On Monday, President Salva Kiir ordered the South Sudanese army to withdraw from border with Sudan to eight kilometres.

Kiir subsequently called for normalisation of the relations with Sudan.

The South Sudanese Minister of Petroleum and Mining, Stephen Dhieu Dau told reporters in Juba on Tuesday that they will soon start official talks with Khartoum on the reduction of the oil transportation fees to Port Sudan.

Juba recently requested the Sudanese authorities to reduce the transit fees because of the fall of the international oil prices to under$30. South Sudan currently pays about $24.50 a barrel to Sudan for the use of the northern pipelines.