Sudanese president due in Juba to boost bilateral ties

Sudanese President Omar al- Bashir arrived in South Sudan's capital Juba on Friday, starting the first visit of Sudan's head of state to the neighboring country since it became independent in July 2011. During the one-day visit, the Sudanese president is to hold talks with South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit on the bilateral relations especially issues critical for the implementation of the cooperation agreements the two countries signed in last September in Addis Ababa, capital city of Ethiopia. Ahmed Bilal Osman, spokesman of the Sudanese government, stressed Friday the importance of al-Bashir's visit to Juba, noting that it came at a politically appropriate time after the signing of the cooperation agreements between the two countries. He asserted in a press release as al-Bashir leaving Khartoum that the visit aimed to break the barrier of mistrust and show Sudan's political will to implement what was agreed upon. Invited by his South Sudan counterpart, al-Bashir also wanted to confirm what he told the South Sudanese people on their independence day through this visit, he added. "We seek cooperation and integration between the two countries in order to advance them to a two-state union," the spokesman said. Sudan and South Sudan on March 8 signed a matrix deal in Addis Ababa, to implement the security arrangements agreement and then started withdrawing their forces from the joint border to establish a safe demilitarized zone. They also agreed to resume South Sudan's oil exportation through Sudan's oil pipeline in two weeks' time.