Juba and Khartoum to implement agreement

Tensions between Sudan and South Sudan have caused security and economic problems, South Sudanese Information Minister Benjamin Barnaba claimed. The minister has urged Khartoum and Juba to implement the latest Addis Ababa agreement and develop a trading relationship. In an interview with the state radio on Friday, Barnaba said that members of parliament are being urged to back Juba to implement the agreement. Ministerial committees will be held in both countries to ensure that measures are taken in order to put in place the latest deal between the two countries. Barnaba also expects the parliament of South Sudan to ratify the new conditions of the agreement in the next few days, which will allow the country to pump oil through Sudan. The agreement included progress on a financial package of some $3 billion that Juba has offered Khartoum, in compensation for Sudan's loss of key oil fields when the South broke free in 2011. The details, however, were not immediately released. The two sides agreed on a demilitarised border buffer zone, where troops must withdraw 10km from the de facto line of control along the disputed frontier. The buffer zone is also designed to cut support for rebel forces in South Kordofan and Blue Nile regions, which Khartoum accuses Juba of backing, just as the South accuses Sudan of arming rebels in its territory Protracted talks under African Union mediation began in Addis Ababa several months before South Sudan split in July 2011 from Africa's biggest country, following an independence vote after decades of war. President Barack Obama has welcomed the agreement signed Thursday in Addis Ababa between Sudan and South Sudan, describing it as a “historic" one. The US President said: "This agreement breaks new ground in support of the international vision of two viable states at peace with each other, and represents substantial progress in resolving the outstanding security and economic issues between Sudan and South Sudan." Both countries received praise and congratulations on their newly formed agreement from the European Union, British Foreign Secretary William Hague and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. "These agreements provide vital elements in building a strong foundation for a stable and prosperous future between the two countries" said Mr Ban's spokesperson. The UN Secretary General further commended Presidents Omar al-Bashir of Sudan and Salva Kiir of South Sudan "for demonstrating the statesmanship that made a comprehensive agreement possible, and for having once again chosen peace over war.