Juba, South Sudan,
June 19, 2021 – The head of the Sudanese Transitional Military Council, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan urged the Joint Border Committee of Sudan and South Sudan to immediately reach a consensus for what he believes would boost social, economic, and diplomatic relations.
In a statement released after the meeting, Burhan urged the JBC to expedite the completion of the demarcation of the international boundary between the two States.
According to a statement seen by Nyamilepedia, Burhan appealed to the Committee to cooperate with the relevant authorities and encourage them to create an open space to facilitate free movements.
Head of the South Sudanese delegation Michael Makuei Lueth who is also the South Sudan Information Minister said they briefed Burhan on the progress made by the JBC in its works adding that parties exchanged documents that will be reviewed by the two sides prior to the resumption of discussions in the near future.
“Despite the difficult task, the Committee will work hard to accomplish its mission,” said Makuei.
The completion of the border demarcation between the two countries should have already been done even before the 2011 referendum.
However, the lack of political will and internal leadership challenges within both countries frustrated the efforts to finalize the process.
The Mile 14 area is one of the major causes of the difficulties facing the border demarcation process. The grazing is located between Western Bahr El-Ghazal State in South Sudan and East Darfur State in Sudan.
It was part of the Darfur region when the country declared its independence on 1 January 1956. But despite this fact, the Malual Dinka totally rejected to concede it to the Sudanese.
