Sudan and South Sudan have agreed to deepen cooperation on security, trade and oil, including the resumption of production at key oil fields, following a high-level visit by a South Sudanese delegation to Port Sudan, officials said on Wednesday.

Oil production linked to South Sudan was recently disrupted after Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized Heglig, Sudan’s largest oil field, amid continued fighting with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in the oil-producing south.

Heglig, located along the border between Sudan’s West Kordofan State and South Sudan, hosts critical oil infrastructure such as wells, storage facilities and processing plants. The field processes an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 barrels of crude per day for both countries. It also sits along a vital pipeline transporting oil from South Sudan’s Unity fields to Port Sudan, making it central to export earnings and transit revenues.

South Sudan’s Foreign Minister Monday Semaya Kumba said the visit to Port Sudan was undertaken on the directive of President Salva Kiir Mayardit to strengthen bilateral relations. Speaking to reporters at Juba International Airport after returning on Wednesday, Kumba said the delegation, led by Presidential Security Adviser Tut Gatluak Manime, delivered a written message from President Kiir to Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council Chairman Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

According to Kumba, Gatluak later held discussions with Burhan on bilateral cooperation, focusing on economic ties, trade and investment, oil, security and political matters. The talks also addressed the situation of citizens from both countries living across the border, peace processes in Sudan and South Sudan, and the exchange of official visits.

During the visit, Gatluak met senior Sudanese officials, including Sovereign Council Vice President Malik Agar, Prime Minister Kamil Idris, and council member Gen Shams al-Din Kabashi Ibrahim.

Kumba said the discussions further covered Sudan’s allocation of a free economic and trade zone for South Sudan at Port Sudan, the activation of joint ministerial and economic committees, and the status of citizens in both countries.

In separate engagements, Kumba said he and Sudan’s acting foreign minister agreed to establish a joint mechanism to address bilateral issues and support each other in regional and international forums. He also met Sudan’s interior minister to explore closer cooperation between the two ministries.

On oil matters, Kumba said a technical delegation led by Petroleum Ministry Undersecretary Chol Thon held talks with Sudan’s petroleum minister, with both sides agreeing to resume production at the Heglig and Bamboo oil fields.

The two countries committed to continued coordination and consultation, signing minutes of their meetings and issuing a joint statement at the conclusion of the visit.

Relations between Sudan and South Sudan remain closely linked to oil, with landlocked South Sudan depending on Sudan’s pipelines and port facilities to export more than 90 percent of its oil production and generate vital national revenue.