Oct 15, 2014(Nyamilepedia) — Speaking on the state owned national television, SSTV, the South Sudan’s Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs, Gen. Kuol Manyang Juuk, states that the Republic of South Sudan and Uganda have signed a “long term”military cooperation and weapon agreements.
Although the core details of the new agreement are yet to be revealed, Gen. Kuol believes that the two countries “have signed the cooperation agreement in order to work together and support each other”.
Manyang believes that the long-term cooperation agreements will assign the landlocked Uganda as a signatory to purchase weapons and important facilities for the nation of South Sudan.
South Sudan relies on Ugandan’s warplanes and military to defense its strategic installations such as oil fields and states capitals of Greater Upper Nile region in the current conflict. The new agreement will mark the first of its kind between the two countries.
At the beginning of the conflict, the two countries reported having signed a military agreement in January 2013, however, supportive documents are yet to be traced.
The pressure was exerted by the Ugandan parliament which questioned the intervention of Ugandan army without legal authorization from the parliament.
On 10th Oct 2014, the Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni acknowledged the closed doors meeting, that preceded the 7th Summit of the Heads of State of the Northern Corridor Integration Projects, at Entebbe with president Salva Kiir Mayardiit.
“Today I held discussions with His Excellency Salva Kiir and delegation when they called on me at State House Entebbe.” Yoweri Museveni states.
President Yoweri Museveni and Salva Kiir were later joined by president Paul Kagame of Rwanda to launch the Uganda section of the standard gauge railway that will connect Malaba to Kampala.
The region is expanding its transport network with series of Railway Gauges that will connect the cities within the East African Community with hopes to extend the facility to oil rich South Sudan.
During the meeting of Northern Corridor Integration Projects, regional ministers presented progress made in their countries in various sectors that include transport, ICT, commodities exchange, energy, immigration, trade as well as defence, peace and security cooperation with exception of South Sudan.
Upon his return to Juba, Gen. Salva Kiir reiterates that South Sudan will build its Railway Gauge to join the region in development.
President Kiir’s visit to Entebbe came barely a few days after the South Sudan parliament passed a controversial bill that places several powers in the trusteeship of National Security Service.
In other reports, today (15th Oct) marks the deadline, which was declared on September 16th by the South Sudan’s Minister for Labour and Public Service for the foreigner workers to be expelled from a list of jobs that would be occupied by the South Sudanese nationals.
