AU lauds Sudan-South Sudan cooperation progress

The chairwoman of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, has welcomed the recent progress made in the implementation of the September 2012 Cooperation Agreement between Sudan and South Sudan, concluded under the auspices of the AU High-level Implementation Panel (AUHIP).

The AU stated in a press release on Wednesday that Dlamini-Zuma welcomed the successful conclusion of the extraordinary meeting of the Joint Political and Security Mechanism (JPSM) chaired by the AUHIP in Addis Ababa on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“In the decisions signed at the end of the meeting, the parties notably accepted the Map and the Centreline proposed by the AUHIP to facilitate the establishment of the Safe Demilitarised Border Zone,” the press release reads.

The parties also agreed on a number of steps to improve the working methods of the JPSM sub-committees, to ensure that all other outstanding issues are effectively addressed.

The successful convening of the extraordinary JPSM session follows the 4th meeting of the Sudanese-South Sudanese Joint Boundary Commission (JBC), which was facilitated by the AU Border Programme in Addis Ababa from 6 to 8 October.

The JBC meeting concluded with the parties agreeing on specific steps to expedite the demarcation of their common border, concerning the preparation of a demarcation plan, a budget for the entire exercise and the acceleration of the opening of an Escrow Account for the funding of this process.

The decisions reached by the JPSM and the resolutions of the JBC lay a solid foundation towards achieving sustainable peace between the two countries, the AU chairwoman said. She expects they will also have a positive effect in the search for peace in South Sudan.

Dlamini-Zuma reaffirmed the “AU’s unwavering support to the two countries in their efforts to build two viable states living side by side in peace and cooperating on all issues of mutual interest”.