Several people residing along the Sudan-South Sudan border have “warmly welcomed” the outcome of the summit held last Tuesday between the presidents of Sudan and South Sudan in Khartoum. These include residents of Upper Nile, East Darfur, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, and Western Bahr el Ghazal states.
Presidents Salva Kiir and Omar Al Bashir agreed last week to avert the shutdown of oil flow from the south via pipelines in the north, to open crossing border points, and stimulate trade along the borders.
“The meeting was fruitful and successful,” a citizen in a border state was quited as saying. Many shop owners have also welcomed the decision by both presidents to “forget about their differences and start a new chapter”.
Nevertheless, traders warned that the common borders are still “volatile”. They specifically referred to “unlawful checkpoints uncontrolled by authorities in particular in West Kordofan”.
Traders are requesting the strict monitoring along the border in order to “remove hurdles that endanger the smooth trade between the two Sudans”.
The commissioner of Bahr el Arab locality in East Darfur told Radio Tamazuj its residents also welcomed the summit’s outcome calling the Sudan-South Sudan relations “strategic”.
“We, the authorities in Bahr el Arab, shall open the borders when natural conditions as the rainy season improve,” the commissioner said, noting the two presidents have taken a step in the “right direction”.
Meanwhile, two communities in Sudan and South Sudan agreed on Monday to hold an economic integration forum between the two countries later this month in Juba.
Magdi Hassan Yassin, Sudan’s State Minister of Finance, reiterated his country’s full commitment to improving relations with the south.
“Sudan will assist the new nation with expertise in terms of revenue collection and capacity building through an integrated program in economic development applied worldwide”, he said.
For his part, the chairman of Sudan’s Chamber of Exporters stated he hopes “cross-border trade will facilitate access to essential commodities and will enable authorities to fight smuggling”.
He added that trade with South Sudan could generate US$2 billion annually.