Prime Minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda who represented President Yoweri Museveni is back home from Juba, South Sudan where he joined Ethiopian Prime Minister, Hailemarriam Desalegn, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and host President Gen. Salva Kiir of South Sudan at the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Mini-summit consultation.
The one day IGAD mini- summit held on Wednesday was convened to consult on the outcomes of the Bahir Dar, Ethiopia session of the South Sudan peace process.
The Ethiopian Prime Minister is the Chairperson of the IGAD Assembly while President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya is the Rapporteur of the IGAD Assembly.
According to the IGAD communique, issued at the end of the Mini-summit, the Bahir Dar session identified a few outstanding issues which could only be discussed at the heads of State and Government level.
The Communique adds that consultations before the Juba IGAD mini-summit were held with Dr. Riek Machar, the leader of the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement (SPLM)/Army in opposition to understand the key concerns of the opposition in relation to the outcomes of the Bahir Dar session.
“At the Juba consultations, a breakthrough has been achieved on the outstanding issues to be finalised at the next IGAD Summit to be convened next week” reads the IGAD communique on the Mini-summit issued on Wednesday.
The Juba IGAD mini- summit comes after another meeting on Monday, between President Kiir and Dr. Machar in Arusha, Tanzania at the invitation of President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania, where they both agreed to address the 10 month old political crisis in South Sudan which has claimed thousands of lives with over a million people displaced.
“The IGAD heads of state and Government attending the Mini- Summit congratulated President Salva Kiir and Dr. Riek Machar for the courageous and visionary leadership in resolving the ongoing crisis in South Sudan” reads part of the IGAD communique.
According to the communique, the IGAD leaders also thanked and encouraged the IGAD special envoys to continue with their effort until the crisis in South Sudan is resolved.
It should be recalled that IGAD Assembly of heads of State and Government endorsed the protocol on agreed principles on transitional arrangements towards resolution of the crisis in South Sudan in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in August 2014.
Representatives of different Stakeholders reiterated their commitment to the IGAD led negotiation process and expressed their resolve to address the root cause of the crisis as soon as possible.