Sudan and South Sudan have agreed to open their borders after 11 years of negotiations.
According to President Salva Kiir’s administration, this came following a meeting between South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.
The diplomatic meeting in Juba also resolved the reopening of water transit, according to a press statement seen by The EastAfrican over the weekend.
“On all aspects and fields of cooperation, the two parties held long negotiations and open discussions. Four new border crossing points have opened: Jebeleen-Renk, Meriam, Buram-Tumsah, and Kharsana-Panakuac. It will take a while for the official launch to happen.
During Omar Bashir’s dictatorship, most of the 2,000 borders between South Sudan and Sudan were closed, affecting traders and residents on both sides of the disputed line.
When ties deteriorated when the south seceded after a long civil war, taking with it three-quarters of the country’s oil, the borders were closed in 2011.
Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir ordered the opening of the facility in January 2016.
