Sudan pins hope on Bashir's visit to Juba

A state of cautious optimism is prevailing the Sudanese political circles over a visit of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to South Sudan on Friday.Al-Bashir's planned visit, the first since his participation in the independence celebrations of South Sudan in 2011, acquires great importance in terms of timing and objectives following positive developments in the ties between the two countries.The visit of President Omar al-Bashir to Juba comes as a political culmination for the agreements signed between Sudan and South Sudan," Abdul-Rahman Al-Amin, editor-in-chief of Sudan's Alqarar daily, told Xinhua."Definitely the visit will not be a public relations visit, but it will constitute a milestone in the relations between the two countries and institute for a new reality. Definitely the visit will have positive outcome," he added.Al-Amin further reiterated that the forthcoming summit between al-Bashir and South Sudan's Silva Kiir would likely to resolve several outstanding issues including breaking the link between South Sudan's army and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement ( SPLM)/ northern sector besides the Abyei issue."I expect the two presidents to thoroughly discuss the future of the Abyei area and formation of its joint administration," he said.However, Al-Sadiq Al-Rizaigi, editor-in-chief of Sudan's Al- Intibaha daily, appeared more cautious towards the outcome of al- Bashir's expected visit to Juba and what could come out of the summit between the two countries' presidents."The visit basically aims at enhancing the agreement signed between Sudan and South Sudan, but certainly this necessitates a strong will on the part of the two sides," Al-Rizaigi told Xinhua."I think it is premature to judge on the visit or its outcome. The reality has not changed that much on the path of the relationship between Sudan and South Sudan where, according to a report presented by the Sudanese Defense Minister to the Sudanese parliament on Wednesday, the SPLM/northern sector is still receiving support from Juba," he noted.Al-Rizaigi further voiced concerns over al-Bashir's visit to Juba, saying "there are concerns in the wake of Juba's stance towards the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) regarding president al-Bashir."Salva Kiir has affirmed in previous statements that pressures were exercised on Juba to change its stance towards the ICC," he added.Emad Sid Ahmed, press adviser to the Sudanese president, has confirmed the date of al-Bashir's visit to Juba on Friday.Speaking to reporters, Ahmed stressed on Thursday that the visit would not be postponed, adding that high-level meetings were held between the two countries to coordinate for the visit to be successful.For his part, South Sudan's Ambassador to Khartoum Mayan Dot announced that Juba government and its people welcome al-Bashir's visit to the nascent country.The visit would review bilateral relations and speed up the implementation of the cooperation agreement signed by the two countries to shift to realistic normalization, Dot reiterated.Sudan's ruling National Congress Party (NCP) also welcomed the visit, pointing out that it supports the cooperation agreement and its assisting mechanism so that it would be implemented for the interest of the two countries and future ties.Sudan and South Sudan on March 8 signed a matrix deal in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa to implement the security arrangements agreement and then started withdrawing their forces from the joint border to establish a safe demilitarized zone between them.They also agreed to resume South Sudan's oil exportation through Sudan's oil pipeline within two weeks.