Sudan, south Sudan decide to resume border demarcation talks

Sudan and South Sudan on Saturday decided to resume talks on demarcation of their joint border in this September, Sudanese Media Center reported.

"Activities of the joint security committees between Khartoum and Juba concerning the border demarcation process will resume in September in Khartoum," South Sudan's Ambassador in Khartoum Mayan Dot was quoted as saying.

The border demarcation meetings between the two countries were scheduled to resume last June, but they had been delayed several times due to the security conditions in South Sudan.

The South Sudanese ambassador said the two sides have agreed on the timetable set to begin the implementation of the nine joint cooperation agreements between the two countries.

"The joint committees will hold similar meetings in Juba during the coming period to determine the tasks of the committee and implement their assigned commitments," Dot said.

He said South Sudan government has embarked on adopting practical and serious steps to withdraw the army forces for a distance of 10 km inside its territories in coordination with the UN.

In September 2012, Sudan and South Sudan signed a cooperation deal, including nine agreements on outstanding issues between the two countries, in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa under the patronage of the African Union.

The deal included a package of understandings related to security, citizens status, border and economic issues and others related to oil and trade.

However, the signed agreements did not tackle the issues of Abyei and border demarcation.

The border issue constitutes one of the biggest barriers hampering the settlement of differences between Sudan and South Sudan, which involves disputes over five border areas, including Abyei, Dabatal-Fakhar, Jabel Al-Migainis, Samaha and Kafia Kanji. 

Source : XINHUA