Date Set for Kiir-Machar Meeting

President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar will meet after Eid al-Fitr in Khartoum, Sudan’s ambassador to Juba said.

The meeting between the two leaders was proposed by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) during talks at the Council of Ministers’ extra-ordinary session in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa recently.

The two leaders have also shown interest to meet each other for the sake of peace in the country.

Ambassador Adil Ibrahim Mustafa said the meeting between Kiir and Machar will be attended by Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

He pointed out that the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir offered to host the planned talks between Kiir and Machar as part of regional efforts to end the ongoing civil war in South Sudan.

Ibrahim further said the two leaders’ meeting will discuss all outstanding issues. “The meeting in Khartoum will take place after Eid al-Fitr, so it will be between 19 to 24 June,” he said.

“Arrangements are in place to invite President Salva Kiir and Dr. Riek Machar for the face-to-face meeting,” he added.

He expressed optimism about the proposed face to face meeting between President Salva Kiir and his rival Riek Machar.

Koch Madut