National parliament sitting. September 20, 2024 (Photo: Eye Radio)

Lawmakers have declined a cooperation agreement between the Government of South Sudan and Saudi Arabia, saying the deal does not favour the “interests” of the people of South Sudan.

It remains unclear which specific provisions of the agreement lawmakers objected to or what concerns were raised during the parliamentary deliberations.

The broad cooperation agreement, which was initially signed in 2022, included cooperation on trade between South Sudan and the Gulf nation.

The agreement was tabled for deliberation on Friday last week.

However, according to Parliament spokesperson Oliver Mori Benjamin, MPs resolved to send the deal back to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for refinement and further clarification.

Mori, who is also the Chairperson of the Information Committee, said lawmakers unanimously resolved to return the agreement to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to address concerns raised by parliamentarians before it is re-tabled in parliament.

He said a joint report on the cooperation agreement presented by the committees on Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Legislation and Justice, and Government Assurances Monitoring, Follow-up and Evaluation appeared to raise concerns that could affect the national interest.

“It was clear that this agreement does not favour the interest of people of the Republic of South Sudan for a lot of point raise during this joint agreement. Therefore, the parliament resolved this agreement to be return back to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for further clarification and re-table it,” Mori said to the media on Friday last week.

During the presentation of the report, Acting Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee George Bureng acknowledged that attracting foreign investment falls within the mandate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

“For the safety and future of the country, it is mandatory that these generalised cooporation agreements with foreign governments be limited and subjected to scrutiny to ensure that they are aligned to our national priority development developmental goals and that they are not injurious to our cultural heritage and sovereignty,” George said.

However, he stressed the need for caution when entering broad cooperation agreements with foreign governments.