The Egyptian Embassy in Juba says the country`s nearly four-year crisis has halted most of the projects that the Egyptian Government is running in South Sudan.
Speaking during a farewell party for the outgoing Egyptian Ambassador to South Sudan, Amb. Ayman Mokhtar Elgammal, who has been in the country for the past five years, the outgoing ambassador said many infrastructural projects by the Egyptian government have come to stand still due to the crisis.
“December 2013 crisis many projects of the Egyptian government to South Sudan which was due to be implemented were put on halt also a lot of infrastructures that were supposed to be built were destroyed in the two years of the conflict,” said Amb. Mokhtar.
Amb. Mokhtar noted that the bilateral relationship between Egypt and South Sudan has become very strong with the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood and the election of the incumbent president Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi.
“The relationship between Egypt and South Sudan when I arrived in 2012 the situation of the relationship between South Sudan and Egypt was not great, we had an Islamic government in Egypt which was not favored by the government here in South Sudan but after the second revolution in 2014 and the election of Abdel Fatah Al Sisi things changed 180 degrees with the visit of President Kiir to Cairo in which he signed eight MOU including the provision of scholarships annually to South Sudan” Amb. Mokhtar reiterated adding, “We are hoping that very soon president Abdel Fatah al Sisi will replicate with a visit here to South Sudan to move the relations to further heights and more cooperation with Egypt.”
Speaking at the same event the Undersecretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Bak Valentino Akol Wol cherished the generous contribution of the Egyptian government to the infrastructural development of South Sudan.
“Egypt built schools, they brought in humanitarian assistance, they have brought in the humanitarian assistance they have also built power stations, they have done a lot of things so far this ambassador I want to say thank you ambassador Ayman,” said Amb. Bak.
Undersecretary Bak noted that majority of civil servants and ministers graduated from the Egyptian Universities and there are tens of thousands of South Sudanese studying in the Egyptian universities on Egyptian full scholarship also thousands of South Sudanese are refugees in Egypt and hence saying the relationship between South Sudan and Egypt can only get stronger and stronger and also he assured that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will work very closely and cooperate closely with the designated ambassador who will replace the outgoing Ambassador.
The National Courier