Kibaki urges unity between North, South Sudan
Photo/AFP/FILE
Southern Sudanese waiving their regional flag in Juba, South Sudan. Juba was left in ruins by decades of conflict, violence that drove its people to vote overwhelmingly to separate from the North, with formal independence to be declared on July 9, 2011.
President Mwai Kibaki has urged the North and South Sudan states to forge bilateral relations as they assume new sovereign status on Saturday.
"I urge North and South Sudan to take advantage of the age-old links they have developed as one entity, to nurture close bilateral relations even as they assume separate sovereign identities. This will no doubt contribute immensely to consolidating stability in the region," he said in a press statement on Friday.
The Government of South Sudan will on Saturday celebrate its independence seven months after a successful conclusion of the referendum that led to the separation from the North.
President Kibaki noted that Kenya, which was the mediating state in the Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) recognises the Republic of South Sudan as a fully sovereign State.
"We look forward to working closely with the new Republic to further enhance the existing cordial relations,' he said.
