South and North Sudanese political powers held their first meeting in the presidential palace in Juba on the historical day of the South’s independence. The meeting was intended to emphasise the importance of good relations between Sudan’s two states.

Senior figures from the North’s political parties participated in the meeting, including the leader of the Islamist opposition Umma party, Sadeq Al-Mahdi; Hassan Al-Turabi, leader of the Popular Conference Party; and Mohammed Ibrahim Nugud, leader and secretary-general of the Sudanese Communist Party.

Awad Al-Karim, the chargé d’affaires of the newly-created South Sudan, has repeated his country’s keenness to build strong and constructive relations with the nascent country.

Awad said that President Omar Al-Bashir’s public recognition of the South in front of the world reflected the will of the North to consolidate bonds with the South and open new facilities that would offer different services to brothers in the South, a bid that will help train and rehabilitate the human cadres to secure the stability of the South.

“The North had announced, since the referendum, that it would respect the choice and the will of the people of the South whatever it was, and has fulfilled its promise, knowing that peace under two countries is better than war under one country,” Awad emphasised .

Meanwhile, South Sudan has welcomed a conference on development and investment in the south to take place in Abu Dhabi next month.