South Sudanese President Salva Kiir is expected to take part in a summit meeting of African leaders in the United States capital this week. The meeting coincides with the resumption of South Sudan’s peace talks hosted in Ethiopia.
The US-Africa leaders summit is scheduled to take place Monday to Wednesday in Washington, DC. According to the White House, the event focuses on “trade and investment in Africa,” as well as security and “democratic development.”
Invitations were sent to leaders of all African countries except Sudan, Central African Republic, Eritrea and Zimbabwe.
Kiir, who leads SPLM-Juba, a faction of the now divided ruling party, is expected to meet with US officials but not the US president.
Meanwhile, the South Sudanese rebel leader Riek Machar is scheduled to visit the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Monday, where he is expected to meet the Sudanese President Omer Hassan al Bashir and other top government officials.
SPLM-IO head of external relations Dhieu Mathok Diing told Radio Tamazuj on Sunday that Machar will travel to Khartoum on Monday, saying he received an invitation letter from the Sudanese authorities in late July.
The official Sudan News Agency (SUNA) confirmed the planned visit in a statement on Sunday, quoting the Foreign Minister Ali Karti as saying the visit was “for the interest of peace and stability.”
South Sudan’s government in Juba opposes Machar’s visit to Sudan, claiming the visit violates the Joint Cooperation Agreement signed by the two countries in September 2012, which forbid ‘hostile propaganda’.
Dhieu explained their visit to Khartoum is part of the opposition leader’s tour of member states of the East African Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), saying that Machar will update the Sudanese government on the political position of the SPLM-IO faction.
He downplayed the objection of the government in Juba to their visit to Khartoum. “I wonder why is the Juba government did not oppose our visits to Kenya, Djibouti and Ethiopia?” he asked.
“I think there is no clear reason for the government in Juba to oppose our visit to Khartoum,” he indicated.
Meanwhile, media in Kenya are reporting that representatives of Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia may take part in a ‘mini-summit’ on the South Sudan crisis in Washington on the sidelines of the US-Africa Summit this week.
This comes after another meeting of East African leaders in Nairobi on Thursday, during a summit on the Lamu Port project. The meeting was attended by President Uhuru Kenyatta, President Yoweri Museveni, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and President Salva Kiir.