South Sudan and Sudan resume talks to resolve bilateral disputes

South Sudan and Sudan on Sunday resumed talks in Khartoum to resolve the thorny bilateral disputes after the newest African country’s secession in 2011.

South Sudan’s ministers of foreign affairs, defence, interior and petroleum met with their Sudanese counterparts in Khartoum for the first time since the formation of the national unity government in Juba in May.

“There are difficulties in our relations with Sudan. I conveyed a message from President Kiir to President Omar al-Bashir, calling for a quick resolution of our differences,” the head of South Sudan’s diplomatic mission, Deng Alor, said at a joint press conference with his Sudanese counterpart Ibrahim Ghandour.

Mr. Ghandour, on his part, said that the first priority of Sudan is to build relations with South Sudan given the historical ties between the two nations.

The two countries have border disputes including the status of Abyei and royalties that Juba should pay to use a pipeline that passes through Sudan to export its oil.

South Sudan is one of the poorest countries of the world after gaining its independence from Sudan in 2011. The new country quickly plunged into a deadly and devastating civil war in 2013 between two of its most important political figures, Riek Machar and Salva Kiir.

The rebel leader Riek Machar became vice president in April forming a national unity government with President Salva Kiir.