Addis Ababa, 6 December 2016: In pursuance of the implementation of the Border Issues Agreement (BIA), signed on 27 September 2012, between the Governments of Sudan and South Sudan, to address the outstanding issues relating to their common border, the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) and the Joint Demarcation Committee (JDC) convened their first joint meeting from 30 November to 2 December 2016, at Saro Maria Hotel, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Hosted by the African Union Border Program (AUBP), the meeting was officially opened on behalf of the Commissioner for Peace and Security by Ambassador Frederic Gateretse Ngoga, Head, Conflict Prevention and Early Warning Division (CPEWD), followed by opening remarks by Minister Michael Makuei Lueth, the Co-Chair of JBC from South Sudan side and by Dr. Alrashid Haroun Adam, the Co-Chair of JBC, from the Sudan side and the Chair of the joint meeting.

Representatives from the Border Commission and the Demarcation Committees of Sudan and South Sudan, African border experts and AUBP staff attended the meeting.

The meeting reviewed all the documentation done from the first JBC and JDC sessions. Furthermore, the meeting considered and adopted the report of the JDC; took immediate actions and made resolutions aimed at facilitating and expediting implementation of the BIA, especially the demarcation process of the common boundary between the two countries.

The meeting concluded with the signing of a joint letter to Qatar National Bank, confirming the opening of an Escrow Account in Doha, Juba and Khartoum and adopted the Regulations for the Management of the ESCROW Account. Further, the meeting directed the JDC to submit to the JBC a complete and comprehensive work on the boundary line delimitation document, taking into account the partial work of the Ad-Hoc Committee based on the provisions of Article 5 (1) of the BIA, on the commitment to Demarcate their common Boundary, which brings the two countries closer to finalize the demarcation process, which coincides with Aspiration 4 of the Africa Agenda2063: A peaceful and secure Africa; mechanisms for peaceful prevention and resolution of conflicts.

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