Sudan-South Sudan joint commission to meet

KHARTOUM - Sudanese Foreign Ministry has announced that the joint political and security commission between Sudan and South Sudan would meet in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, on Nov 5, Khartoum's Al Ray Al A'm daily reported Wednesday.

"The Sudanese Minister of Defense Abdul-Rahim Mohamed Hussein has received an invitation from his South Sudan counterpart to attend the meeting of the joint political commission between the two countries in Juba, capital of South Sudan, on Nov 5, with the participation of Thabo Mbeki, chairperson of the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel on Sudan (AUHIP)," the paper quoted Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Karti as saying.

"Convocation of the meeting at this time is a strong blow to those who are seeking to abort the cooperation agreement between the two countries," added the minister.

Karti meanwhile noted that the recent bombardment on South Kordofan state on the border with South Sudan was a desperate attempt to disturb the agreements between the two countries, affirming the failure of those attempts in the face of the determination of the two sides.

In September, Sudan and South Sudan signed a package of agreements on various issues during a presidential summit between the two countries in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Witnessed by the AUHIP members, the two sides have inked three deals on cooperation, security and post-secession.

However, the agreements have neither tackled the issues of the oil-rich area of Abyei nor the demarcation of the borders.