Egypt’s resident Abdel Fattah El Sisi and South Sudanese President Salva Kiir met in Cairo on Monday to discuss ways to strengthen ties between the two countries in a way that bolsters their strategic partnership in various fields.
In a joint press conference, President Sisi said that Egypt is committed to supporting South Sudan’s efforts to achieve peace and stability.
The president affirmed that despite the international economic challenges, Egypt would spare no effort to stand by South Sudan and its people, especially in the field of capacity-building and providing technical expertise in various fields.
He also asserted during the talks Egypt’s full support for the efforts of President Kiir and all the South Sudanese parties to achieve peace in the country.
In this regard, the president commended the efforts made by the political parties in South Sudan to move forward with the implementation of the electoral entitlement and our full support for the government’s efforts to meet the aspirations of the people of South Sudan towards peace, stability and development.
The two leaders also discussed ways to enhance and develop joint political, military, and security coordination during this important phase that the region is passing through.
They also agreed to coordinate efforts in a way that achieves the security and stability of the region and maintains the interests of our peoples.
President Sisi said that he consulted together with President Kiir, within the framework of continuous and constructive dialogue, on the Sudanese crisis and its repercussions on neighbouring countries, especially Egypt and South Sudan.
“We agreed to intensify efforts and contacts between us and the parties concerned inside the Sudan in order to find urgent solutions to the crisis and spare the Sudanese people further destruction and distraction,” the president said.
The leaders also agreed to call on various Sudanese parties to prioritise the supreme national interests of Sudan over any individual interests or external interferences that could deepen the problem, or increase the severity of the suffering of the Sudanese brothers and prolong the crisis.
“We emphasised that the role of Egypt and South Sudan is pivotal in the Sudanese crisis, with the need not to neglect this in any initiatives or efforts put forward to resolve the crisis, especially as the two countries are the most understanding of the nature of the crisis and its tribal complexities,” the president said.
“We also affirmed the centrality of the track of neighbouring countries and the results of its meetings on resolving the crisis,” President Sisi added.
Speaking to the press conference, the visiting South Sudanese president said that he is convinced that dialogue is the sole path to ending the aggravating conflict in the Sudan.
The views exchanged with President Sisi, he added, reflected agreement on the necessity of working together to achieve such a solution that can put an end to the sufferings of the people of the Sudan.
The topics considered during talks, President Sisi said, included ways of enhancing existing co-operation between the two countries in the field of water resources and irrigation and our joint efforts to maximise the utilisation of the River Nile resources.
President Sisi affirmed Egypt’s vision based on the fact that the Nile River should be a source of co-operation and development as a lifeline for all peoples of the Nile Basin countries. We also reviewed the developments related to the Renaissance Dam issue and the course of ongoing negotiations in order to reach a legally-binding agreement on the filling and operation of the dam.
Concluding his statement to the press conference, President Sisi said he would like to avail of the opportunity to reiterate to the people of South Sudan that Egypt will remain a sincere friend, keen to maintain their interest and committed to extending to them all forms of support through the existing mechanisms of co-operation.
For his part, President Kiir said he and President Sisi agreed to build on the memorandum of understanding on co-operation between the two countries in enhancing South Sudan’s benefiting from Egypt’s developmental expertise especially in the field of education.
