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President Kiir Meets New Kenyan Consul General in Juba
Tue, January 29 2008
By ---- [Juba, Sudan]

Lt. Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit, the President of the Government of Southern Sudan and First Vice President of the Republic of Sudan, met this morning with Dr. Joseph K. Kiplagat, the new Kenyan Consul General to Juba.

In a brief statement to the media after the meeting, ambassador Kiplagat explained that the meeting with President Kiir, his first since his arrival in Juba in December last year, was essentially a courtesy call, which had allowed him to express his appreciation of the welcome he has received.

Asked about current affairs in Kenya, where recent weeks have seen violent disturbances and over 500 killings in the aftermath of disputed elections, ambassador Kiplagat expressed hope for a return to peaceful conditions, pointing out that everything about the current political situation in Kenya is in the public domain and, that the two main protagonists are talking about the way forward.

Asked about the timescale for reopening trade links between Kenya and Sudan, particularly the road links which transport fuel inland from the Indian Ocean port of Mombassa through Rift Valley Province, ambassador Kiplagat, a trained engineer, said that the flow of traffic was now normal, with road links having been restored; around five hundred tankers per day are now passing through Kenya to Uganda and onwards, explained the Consul General.

Most of the road links between Kenya and its neighbors have been badly affected by recent political unrest: Kenya’s worst political crisis.

On trade between Kenya and Sudan, ambassador Kiplagat said that, though trade was “flourishing at the moment”, it could be improved by upgrading the road networks, particularly the development of all-weather roads on the two routes from Kenya into Sudan. Further, he said, links would be approved by the harmonization of legal frameworks underpinning trade through agreements between trading partners and organizations such as the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).

Responding to the question of Kenya as a possible future exit route for oil from Southern Sudan, ambassador Kiplagat said that the shortest route from Southern Sudan to the sea is through Kenya to the Indian Ocean. As such, the idea was feasible, though the expense would be considerable.

 

 

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