South Sudan Committed to Maintaining Strong Peaceful Co-existence, Regional Integration: South Sudan’s Ambassador

July 20, 2022 (ENA) South Sudan is committed to co-existing with Ethiopia as the two nations' strength depends on harmony, integration and living in peace, South Sudan’s Ambassador to Ethiopia James Morgan said.

Citing the strong inclusive relations between Ethiopia and South Sudan, the Ambassador stressed that the two countries have to work on further strengthening border area ties by linking communities with proper infrastructures which is key to sustainably resolve security issues.

In an exclusive interview with ENA, Ambassador Morgan stated that it is the work of the two countries to give due attention for issues in border areas.

South Sudan and Ethiopia should come together to resolve problems and ensure peaceful coexistence in border areas.

“We have the communities at the border of the two nations and these communities don't belong to South Sudan alone. Some of these communities are Ethiopian communities and some of them are South Sudanese communities, but they are one people.”

According to him, the two countries should come together to resolve problems among communities in border areas and ensure peaceful coexistence and embark on infrastructure development to integrate the common people.

 “We need to proceed with our regional integration view, which in fact the border areas should be the best areas where this integration starts from and we need to harmonize our living together,” Morgan underscored.

He went on to elaborate that what is needed is harmony among the people. “What is needed is harmony that brings real unity and prosperity, because if we find that the people are united, so many good things can happen.”

The Gambella region can, for example, be an essential integration point for  both countries and a good market which creates strong bondage that will have ripple effect, he pointed out.

Regarding infrastructural linkages between Ethiopia and South Sudan, Ambassador Morgan said “the two sisterly countries are very close to one another and they cannot be without proper roads, infrastructures that link them in order to carry out the daily activities.”

At the moment, the only connectivity the countries have is the Ethiopian Airlines, which links Juba and Addis Ababa, he noted, adding that  this is not enough because many of our citizens cannot afford going to Bole International Airport.

“That is why we need to make sure that people can get together. To make sure that they trade among themselves, they travel within themselves and carry out their daily activities among themselves.”

For the ambassador, economic integration, social, diplomatic and political integration depends on people working together among themselves.

South Sudan and Ethiopia have been working at boosting interconnectivity and economic ties through the construction of road infrastructure to link the two East African countries.

To connect the countries, five routes were selected based on the assessments they have made. Priority has been given to the Gambella-Pagak-Faluji route with construction set to commence in the near future.