South Africa’s President Concludes Visit to South Sudan

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has concluded his working visit to South Sudan to strengthen bilateral relations.

During the working visit – which took place from 16-18 April –, President Ramaphosa received an update from his South Sudanese counterpart President Salva Kiir Mayardit on the implementation of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS), which was signed in September 2018.

“We are encouraged by the progress achieved thus far. The ceasefire agreement is holding and threats to the country’s peace and stability have been reduced.

We believe that with the ongoing work in the establishment of the unified security forces for the country, the security situation will further improve,” stated South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Dr. Naledi Pandor in a statement issued by the Office of the Presidency. 

Due to expire on February 22, 2025, the R-ARCSS agreement served to quell conflict in South Sudan while ushering in a transitional period leading to national elections in 2024, which are set to take place in December.

President Ramaphosa has appointed Deputy President Paul Mashatile as South Africa’s Special Envoy to provide political support to ensure a peaceful end to the transitional period.

“We reiterate our commitment to support the South Sudanese as they go through the transitional period,” added Minister Pandor added.

“We will provide every support possible within our means to ensure a democratic and peaceful end to the transitional period.” 

South Africa has enjoyed cordial relations with South Sudan since the country achieved independence in 2011, serving as a partner to promote growth and prosperity.

Congruent with the working visit, South Africa’s state-owned Strategic Fuel Fund (SFF) met with South Sudan’s national oil company Nilepet in Juba to discuss progress on aerial exploration and environmental surveys in the country.

SFF, which is the operator of Block B2 in South Sudan and partner of Nilepet in the Nile Orange joint venture, has launched an oil and gas exploration campaign in Jonglei State and concluded its initial aerial survey last month.

In the meeting, the companies provided updates on activities required to continue work to the next phases.

The visit also comes on the heels of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy and South Sudan’s Ministry of Mining for collaboration in the mining sector last February.

The MoU will see increased cooperation in exploration, knowledge transfer and capacity building between the two countries.