US Ambassador Molly Phee says her country's relationship with South Sudan now is not strong as it was before, blaming it on continuing fighting, corruption and the mistreatment of aid workers in the world’s youngest nation.
The American diplomat said this in a press statement after meeting South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir at the Presidential Palace in the capital Juba on Monday.
“At the moment there is not a strong relationship between the United States and South Sudan as we would like, and that is because we are concerned about continuing offensives. We are concerned about corruption and we are concerned about the mistreatment of the humanitarian community which is trying to assist,” she said.
“I told the President that the United States has always wanted to see peace for the people of South Sudan and to see them developed their country so that they can be independent and self-sufficient,” she said.
“Those were the goals that we had for you (South Sudanese) when you were fighting the north and those are the goals we have for you today,” she added.
The outgoing ambassador pointed out that they discussed with President Kiir how to address those concerns and the importance of good relations between South Sudan and the United States.
“I wish the president the very best of luck and urge him to exercise his leadership to continue to pursue peace and to pursue economic development for the country,” she said.
Famine has eased in South Sudan after a significant scale up in the humanitarian response, according to new analysis released recently.
However, the humanitarian situation is dire across South Sudan as the number of people struggling to find enough food each day has grown to 6 million, and is the highest level of food insecurity ever experienced in the country.