S.Sudan president's talks with Kenyatta focus on peace

By Magdalene Mukami

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) - South Sudan’s president on Monday held bilateral talks with his Kenyan counterpart during a state visit to Kenya, the first by a sitting South Sudanese leader.

Salva Kiir's talks with Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta focused on South Sudan's stalled peace process, conflict and dispute resolution, trade ties, and regional stability, among other issues.

According to a statement from Kenyatta’s office, during the closed-door meetings the Kenyan leader said Nairobi is concerned about the stability of South Sudan, a nation long beset by civil war. Kenyatta said he “would use Kenya’s voice to urge more nations to support the ongoing peace process in the country."

"The Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan, if fully implemented, will benefit the entire continent and not South Sudan alone," Kenyatta added.

For his part, Kiir said that South Sudan’s government is “delighted that you have assured us that Kenya will exert more pressure for implementation of the peace accord."

At the meeting, Kenya also agreed to allocate land for a dry port to South Sudan at the Naivasha Special Economic Zone and for a logistics hub near the new Lamu Port along the Kenyan coast.