In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, the Foreign Minister of South Sudan Deng Alor Kuol said that his government is determined to resolve all outstanding issues with the Sudanese government and put the countries’ differences behind them at once. The minister is holding fast to his government’s relationship with the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – North (SPLM–N) which is waging a war against the Khartoum government in the states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile.
When asked about the possibility that his country will request membership to the Arab League, even if just as an observer, Alor said “I will visit Egypt soon to discuss this topic”. He stressed that his country’s relations with the Arab world are very good and said that “our relationship with Egypt and the Gulf states is at the peak of its maturity and we have embassies in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, and we are now working on opening an embassy in Qatar”. He added that South Sudan is the “closest African country to the Arab world, and we speak a special kind of Arabic known as Juba Arabic.
