A Joint Border Governors meeting is underway in Addis Ababa to discuss security, immigration, trade, and infrastructures between South Sudan and Ethiopia.
David Nyang, the Minister of Cabinet Affairs in Upper Nile State, who is representing the state governor in the event, said four South Sudanese officials from three border states and one administrative area are discussing border issues.
Upper Nile State is represented by Minister Nyang while Jonglei State is represented by Deputy Governor Hon. Atong Kuol Manyang, and David Yau Yau is attending the meetin on behalf of Greater Pibor Administrative Area.
The South Sudan delegation is led by Amb. Monday Simaya, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
Mr. Nyang said the Joint Border Governors Meeting is a significant event, focusing on several key issues affecting their porous border.
It aims to address cross-border security concerns to ensure peace and stability in the region and discuss policies and cooperation to manage the movement of people across the border.
Others include enhancing bilateral trade relations, addressing barriers to economic cooperation and planning and developing infrastructure projects to improve connectivity and support economic growth.
“The main topics to be discussed include security issues that arise in the border including the spill over conflict between communities (in Ethiopia),” said Nyang.
“There are so many security issues that need to be addressed as well as immigration, customs and trade issues as well as the infrastructure that need to be addressed. The meeting will focus on those four thematic areas and we will deliberate with our current part to see how to address those issues.”
The Ethiopia-South Sudan border stretches 1,114 kilometres from the tripoint of Sudan to the northern beginning of the Illemi Triangle disputed area between Kenya and South Sudan.
According to US-based Wilson Center, people along this border face cross-border inter-communal conflicts which are exacerbated by South Sudan’s instability and low economic inclusion in Ethiopia.
Other factors are border insurgents who engage in illicit trade, child abduction, cattle rustling, and arms smuggling.
Ethiopia and South Sudan are set to build a 220-km cross-border road, following a $738-million financial agreement signed in May 2023.
The project, recently ratified by the South Sudan parliament, aims to enhance connectivity and bolster economic ties between the two neighboring countries, underscoring the growing cooperation and mutually beneficial relationship between Ethiopia and South Sudan.