The Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) on Wednesday ratified the General Cooperation Agreement between South Sudan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, after the agreement was earlier referred back to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for further scrutiny.
The agreement was previously rejected by the Assembly during its consideration in May, amid concerns that some of its provisions could undermine South Sudan’s economic sovereignty and weaken the country’s control over strategic sectors.
Speaking before the Assembly, Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister James Morgan Pitia defended the agreement, saying the role of his ministry was to establish international partnerships while sector-specific ministries would oversee the implementation of cooperation projects.
“The work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is to find friends for South Sudan,” he explained. “Once we ratify this document, Foreign Affairs will no longer be involved. It will be the work of the ministries that are responsible for the investment.”
Pitia said the agreement would allow ministries responsible for agriculture, education, mining and other sectors to engage directly with their Saudi counterparts on investments and development projects.
According to the minister, the agreement was initially signed in 2017 by former Foreign Affairs Minister Deng Alor in New York during the United Nations General Assembly, but later expired after it was not ratified. Following its expiry, former Foreign Affairs Minister Mayiik Deng subsequently re-signed the agreement in Saudi Arabia.
Pitia said the current agreement, signed in 2022, has only one year remaining before it expires, making its ratification necessary to enable South Sudan to benefit from potential cooperation with Saudi Arabia.
He also recalled the 2024 Saudi-Africa Summit in Riyadh, saying South Sudan was unable to benefit from projects presented by other African countries because it had not ratified the agreement. The minister further clarified concerns surrounding provisions allowing cooperation across different sectors, saying such provisions did not mean Saudi Arabia would automatically control or take over strategic resources.
Pitia also withdrew language contained in a previous letter from his ministry that had attracted criticism from lawmakers, saying the ministry was ready to work with Parliament to ensure future communication was handled appropriately.
For his part, Deng Dau Deng, Former Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation deputy minister, supported the ratification, saying responsibility for scrutinizing the document should be shared among the Foreign Affairs Committee, the National Assembly’s administration and the ministry.
“General cooperation agreements between countries are very important, because they provide a framework for the agreement, not only politics and trade, but they can go beyond,” he said.
Dau identified political and diplomatic relations, economic investment and trade, infrastructure and technical support, security and stability, as well as social and human development as key areas that could benefit from the agreement.
He said ratification would provide a framework for relevant ministries to pursue investment, trade, infrastructure, education, health and other areas of cooperation with Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, Rebecca Joshua Okwachi, a SPLM lawmaker representing Panyikang County in Upper Nile State, urged lawmakers to focus on the substance of the cooperation agreement rather than the disputed letter.
She called for stronger due diligence by parliamentary committees when reviewing international agreements and said South Sudan should strengthen its regulations, policies and laws to safeguard its interests in future cooperation agreements.
Okwachi also warned that rejecting the agreement could have diplomatic consequences for South Sudan’s relations with Saudi Arabia.
The ratification now provides a framework for South Sudan and Saudi Arabia to pursue cooperation across various sectors, subject to the relevant laws, regulations and sector-specific agreements.
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