Birth of the 54th African nation

On 9 July 2011, South Sudan officially became Africa’s 54th nation. An independence won after decades of struggle with the successive regimes in Khartoum, capital of the former unified Sudan, and one recognized by all members of the international community, first and foremost the European Union.  

EU High Representative Catherine Ashton, who was present at the independence celebrations on 9 July in Juba, capital of the new nation, declared: “We will continue to support a peaceful transition in South Sudan and we express the hope that South Sudan’s leaders will take full advantage of the unique opportunity they have before them. The EU has committed itself in the long term to maintaining peace and stability in the two Sudans and calls upon them to live together in peace as two viable states after 9 July.”  

For his part, Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs urged the state to give itself a good springboard from which to fight corruption, build up governance and state structures and generate income for itself and for its people. “The EU can engage with South Sudan in a broad and honest dialogue on these issues. As partners, we should be brave enough to tell each other the truth – even if the truth can sometimes be difficult to hear. In any event, the people of South Sudan can count on the EU to be a reliable partner,” he said.  

Since 2005, the EU has granted more than €650M in development aid plus, since 2003, €776M in humanitarian aid. In May, EU foreign ministers agreed to allocate South Sudan an additional €200M to support a development plan for 2011-2013 and to finance projects in the fields of education, health, agriculture, food security and democratic governance.   

Info: For further information on South Sudan read the report in issue 22 of The Courier, available online at www.acp-eucourier.info

M.M.B.