October 13, 2019 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan, South Sudan Joint Technical Committee for Border Demarcation (JTCB) began its meetings in Khartoum on Sunday with the support of the African Union Border Programme (AUBP).

"The agenda of the Committee is based on the decisions of the Joint Border Commission (JBC), as it will prepare a comprehensive draft delimitation of the agreed borders and the procedures it requires to demarcate the ground," said Muaz Mohamed Ahmed Tango, head of the Sudan National Border Commission.

He further said that the Committee will prepare a report on the disputed areas, and then the Joint Technical Committee for Border Demarcation (JTCB) will discuss it before to submit it to the leadership of the two countries.

In December 2017, the JTCB developed a detailed report on the agreed and contested points of the three sectors along the borderline as well as the precise coordinates of all border points.

Claimed and disputed areas on the 2000km border between Sudan and South Sudan include 14-Mile area, Joudat Al-Fakhar, Jebel al-Migainais, Kaka, and Kafia Kingi enclave (Hofrat al-Nahas).

For his part, Darius Garang, chairman of the joint border demarcation committee in South Sudan, said the meeting is a continuation of previous meetings.

"We have divided the borders into sectors to facilitate the work of the committee."

He stressed that the demarcation of the border does not aim at creating barriers between the two countries, but to create stable areas each country can exercise its sovereignty within its borders.

The meetings of the committee will last for three days, after what the results of its meetings will be submitted to the leadership of both countries.

Sudanese transitional government says willing to agree on the free movement of people and goods between the two countries, and expressed readiness to open crossings between the two countries even before the final demarcation of the border.

(ST)