19 July, 2023, Juba, SOUTH SUDAN – France has commended South Sudan for its efforts to persuade Sudan’s warring parties to cease hostilities and accept a peaceful settlement to the ongoing conflict in Sudan, which has left thousands dead and displaced millions from their homes.
This came during a meeting Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hon. Deng Dau Deng held on Tuesday with the French ambassador in South Sudan, H. E. Christian Bader.
The French ambassador also offered France’s support to South Sudan, as it endeavours to get the warring parties to come to the negotiating table.
Fighting erupted in mid April between Sudanese government forces under Gen. Abdel Fatah Al Burhan, chairman of Sudan’s Sovereign Council and commander in chief of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), and Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Since then, South Sudan has had regular contacts with the leaders of the warring parties, as part of a wider initiative by the countries of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), to end the fighting.
Meanwhile, Hon. Deng also held a meeting in his office with H.E. Sem Aboubacar Hassan Dan, Niger’s first ever designated Head of Mission to South Sudan. The meeting focused on bilateral ties between the two counties.
The Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation also met separately with the head of MSF-France, Mamman Mustapha, for discussions on the organization’s “Draft Host Country Agreement.”
Hon. Deng assured the MSF head that work on the document was inn its final stages and would be completed soon, saying he was satisfied with MSF’s work in South Sudan.
