President Kiir

President Salva Kiir will travel to Khartoum this week to discuss border security and the issue of Abyei with his Sudanese counterpart President Omar al-Bashir.

The Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs says the one-day visit is as a result of invitation from President al-Bashir.

The Press Secretary in the office of the President, Ateny Wek, confirmed to Eye Radio that the two Presidents will also deliberate on the status of negotiations with the SPLM-in Opposition in Addis Ababa.

“He will be discussing with President Al- Bashir 3 main things,” outlined Mr Ateny.

“One is the issue of security on the border between the two countries, and of course the process of demarcation of the border and the full implementation of the Cooperation Agreement, and the issue of Abyei.

“And of course the President will also want to talk to al-Bashir as one of the Presidents of the IGAD countries on the issue of 7 former detainees to whom the mediators wanted to be part of the signing of the Declaration of Principle, but the government of South Sudan believes that the process should be confined to the two warring parties -that is government and the rebels- but the third party are not allowed to sign because they don’t have any presence -militarily on the ground.”

Last month, the Defense Minister, Kuol Manyang visited Khartoum to consult on the formation of a joint security mechanism agreed by the two countries in the Cooperation Agreement.

President Omar al-Bashir last visited Juba in January during the crisis that began in Mid-December.