By Taban Henry
The government of South Sudan is hunting for closer cooperation with the countries in the Horn of Africa.
This came after President Salva Kiir Mayardit yesterday received a delegation from the state of Eritrea led by its Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Osman Saleh Mohammed, including Mr. Yemane Ghebreab Woldohannes, the advisor to the Eritrean President.
The meeting was attended by the Minister of Presidential Affairs Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Mayiik Ayii Deng.
In a statement seen by No.1 Citizen Daily Newspaper from the Presidential Official Facebook page, Mayiik Ayii Deng, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said South Sudan is starting to peruse closer cooperation with countries across the Horn of Africa adding that the country can learn from Eretria’s African-centered mindset.
“The government of the Republic of South Sudan has taken this auspicious occasion of the delegation’s visit to deepen the country’s dialogue about regional stability and economic integration, knowing that these will speed our ascent as part and parcel of the African economic and political bloc,” he said.
Ayii noted that the delegation delivered a message from President Isaias Afwerki to President Salva Kiir Mayardit on fostering the existing bilateral relations between South Sudan and Eretria, as well as issues pertaining peace and security in the Horn of Africa region.
“South Sudan recognizes the significances of Eritrea and what it represents in Africa. Eritrea has always centered its domestic and foreign policy on African interests irrespective of the international pressures, including consistently supporting South Sudan,” he added.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation expressed that Africa’s one billion people must unite as the world shifts to a multipolar order. “We can only realize the benefit of our fast-growing economies if we cooperate”.