Bashir, Kiir pledge to open new page in Sudan ties, keep oil running...

3^min

Sudan will continue to allow South Sudan to export its oil through northern pipelines and Port Sudan port, President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said on Tuesday.

"The agreements we signed call for the transport of South Sudan's oil through Sudan's facilities and ports," Bashir said at a meeting with South Sudan's President Salva Kiir.

This comes as the leaders of long-time enemies Sudan and South Sudan pledged at a summit in Khartoum to end their conflicts and honor an agreement over vital cross-border oil exports.

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir flew to Khartoum for a day of talks with his Sudanese counterpart Omar Hassan al-Bashir in his only second visit since South Sudan's secession in 2011.

The two agreed in March to resume oil exports from landlocked South Sudan through the north, its only route to market. Juba had stopped oil flows for 16 months when a conflict over disputed territory and pipeline fees flared last year.

But Sudan has threatened to again stop oil shipments by Friday unless Juba cuts ties with rebels operating across the almost 2,000-km (1,300-mile)-long border. South Sudan denies supporting the insurgents.

At the start of their meeting Bashir and Kiir said they were committed to all bilateral cooperation agreements including oil, without mentioning the crude stoppage threat.

Kiir also said he wanted a new chapter in bilateral ties and open the joint border for trade, a move agreed in September but not implemented by Sudan due to Juba's alleged rebel support.

"You closed the border. We didn't do that but we're ready to reopen it within 24 hours," Kiir said, adding that Juba did not support any Sudanese insurgents.

South Sudan relies heavily on oil exports to fund its budget and any shutdown could have serious economic and political implications.

Apart from rebel support, the neighbors are also at loggerheads over disputed frontier areas such as Abyei, which is highly symbolic to both countries.


REUTERS