High-level delegation from South Sudan visits Cairo to discuss strengthening relations

By Ibrahim Khazen

CAIRO (AA) - A high-level delegation from South Sudan arrived in the Egyptian capital Cairo on Sunday for a three-day visit, local media reported.

The delegation will discuss strengthening bilateral relations and consulting on shared regional and international issues.

The state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper and Al-Qahera News Channel reported it is headed by Tut Gatluak, South Sudan's envoy to the Middle East.

The delegation includes Foreign Minister Ramadan Goc, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Pal Mai Deng, Director of General Intelligence Simon Yen Makuach and Secretary for Political Affairs, Mobilization and Organization for the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), Santo Malek Anai.

The delegation will discuss ways to enhance bilateral relations between the two countries and possibilities for implementing Egyptian developmental projects in South Sudan.

Additionally, it will explore "methods of coordination and consultation on shared regional and international issues," according to the sources, which did not provide a specific meeting schedule.

The two countries, along with nine others, share the Nile River, which stretches 6,650 kilometers (4,132 miles). They include Burundi, Rwanda, Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Sudan as well as Egypt and South Sudan.

In mid-October last year, the Egyptian government announced "the initiation of necessary steps to implement President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's directive to establish an investment fund for the Nile Basin to enhance investment in development and infrastructure projects in Nile Basin countries."

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala