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Indonesia, South Sudan establish diplomatic ties
Indonesia and South Sudan established diplomatic ties on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, the United States.
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Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi (left) and South Sudan’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Deng Dau Deng Malek show off their newly signed joint communiqué on the establishment of diplomatic ties at the Indonesian Mission to the United Nations, New York, the United States on Sept. 20, 2022. (Courtesy of Foreign Ministry/Andi Barus)
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ndonesia gained a new diplomatic partner on Tuesday after it set up ties with one of the world’s youngest nations, South Sudan, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, the United States.
Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi signed an agreement on the establishment of diplomatic relations with South Sudan Deputy Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Deng Dau Deng Malek. The signing ceremony was witnessed by high-ranking South Sudanese officials as well as Indonesian Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut B. Pandjaitan.
Deng heralded the joint communiqué as a “very important step forward” for the bilateral relationship of two countries, and said he looked forward to “exchanging ambassadors”, knowledge and experience.
“South Sudan wants to expand its relations across the world as a young nation, and today we have achieved a very important partner that will move with us, particularly in the area of economic cooperation,” he told reporters.
According to Our World in Data, the young nation had 477.4 million tonnes of oil reserves as of 2020. Deng also said the country had significant potential for infrastructure, oil and economic development.
Since its independence from Sudan in 2011, the country has sought to expand its international network amid efforts to move on from a five-year civil war that ended in 2018.
Talks of establishing ties had repeatedly been broached, with minister Retno persuading lawmakers to allow the formation of ties with South Sudan because the security situation there was improving and the economy was swiftly advancing, reaching 9.5 percent in growth in 2019/2020.
Retno said Tuesday’s agreement was “a very good start for Indonesia and South Sudan to develop cooperation” and conveyed Indonesia’s commitment to continuing to strengthen bilateral relations.
“Immediately after the signing we will meet and discuss what we can do together. The priority, of course, is how to develop economic cooperation between the two countries,” she said.
Prior to the signing ceremony, the South Sudanese delegation met with minister Luhut, diplomats and executives from state construction firm Waskita Karya, state-owned oil-and-gas company Pertamina and state-owned lender Bank Mandiri.
South Sudan became the 193rd member of the UN and the 54th country to join the African Union, after gaining independence from Sudan on July 9, 2011.
