President Salva Kiir and his Central African Republic counterpart Faustin Archange Touadera have signed Memoranda of Understanding on security and visa waiver to allow free movement between the two countries.

President Archange landed in Juba on Friday on his first visit to South Sudan since his election as President in 2016.

According to sources in the South Sudan presidency, Archange and Kiir agreed to establish bilateral ties and “deepen diplomatic cooperation in areas of trade and investment.”

“We signed a joint cooperation agreement between the two countries that will usher us into mutual cooperation in various areas of development as well as politics,” Lumoro told state television SSBC.

“We also signed an MoU on exemption of visas in order to allow the people of the two countries to move freely and engage in trade and other livelihood activities.”

“MoU on security which requires now that the ministers of defense of the two countries will have to come together and draft a schedule for improving security between the two countries.”

On her part, Central African Republic’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sylvie Valérie BAIPO TEMON said the two leaders have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding in areas of trade and security matrix along the borders.

Although blessed with vast natural resources, it is one of the poorest countries in the world and has been plagued by man-made disasters due to a protracted rebel and islamist insurgencies.

In March 2023, President Archange told the UN Least Developed Countries meeting in Doha that his resource-rich but impoverished nation was being “looted” by “Western powers”.