Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir has met with former President of Botswana Festus Gontebanye Mogae, the new head of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), which is tasked with overseeing implementation of South Sudan’s new peace agreement.
In a meeting with Mogae on Saturday, Al-Bashir described the strong historical ties between the peoples of Sudan and South Sudan. However, he pointed out that Juba is still suspicious that the Khartoum government is harbouring rebels.
According to Ashrooq Television, President Bashir stressed that the two counties share many things in common in terms of stability, while reiterating his readiness to welcome South Sudanese refugees who flee violence in their country.
The Sudanese leader pointed out that the South Sudanese nationals should be treated as citizens.
Meanwhile, Mohamed Ahmed Al-Dabi, Sudan’s representative on the IGAD mediation team, said that Sudan welcomes the selection of Festus Mogae as head of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission in South Sudan.
Separately, the Sudanese diplomat also downplayed reports that President Bashir plans to visit Juba in the coming days to participate in the upcoming IGAD summit in Juba, saying the visit depends on the stability of internal situation in South Sudan.