GOSS MINISTER BENJAMIN SAYS EGYPT WILL RECOGNIZE AN

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 000328 DEPT FOR AF A A/S CARTER, AF/SPG, AF/E NSC FOR MGAVIN AND CHUDSON DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV ETRD MOPS MARR KPKO UNSC SU EG CF UG RU SUBJECT: GOSS MINISTER BENJAMIN SAYS EGYPT WILL RECOGNIZE AN INDEPENDENT SOUTH IN 2011, RUSSIA WILL OPEN CONSULATE SOON ¶1. (SBU) Summary: In a March 5th meeting with the international community in Juba, Government of South Sudan (GOSS) Minister for Regional Cooperation (the GOSS' de facto foreign ministry) Barnabas Benjamin gave a briefing on his latest tour of regional capitals on behalf of the GOSS. His top accomplishment, he said, was gaining a commitment from the Government of Egypt to recognize an independent Southern Sudan should the South choose to vote to become a sovereign nation in its 2011 referendum. Benjamin also announced that Russia would soon open a consulate in Juba. End Summary ¶2. (SBU) In a briefing to the international community on his recent visits to African capitals, Minister Benjamin said that his visit to Egypt was the highpoint in that the GOE had, for the first time, committed to him that it will recognize the GOSS as a sovereign nation if the people of the South vote for independence in 2011. This, he said, was a dramatic shift in their policy and one that the GOSS welcomed. ¶3. (SBU) In the DRC, Benjamin said he was able to negotiate an agreement that allows the SPLA to venture up to 15 kilometers across the border when in hot pursuit of LRA rebels. He also said that the government agreed to meet with the GOSS and the Government of Uganda soon for joint discussions on how to better work together and coordinate their efforts to capture Joseph Kony and finally dismantle the LRA. In other talks with DRC officials, he said he had secured trade agreements that would open up lucrative markets for Southern Sudanese agricultural products, and most especially beef exports. The main hold up in implementing these agreements is the insecurity on the DRC - Sudan border created by the operation of LRA elements in the area. ¶4. (SBU) In visiting South Africa, he said he had met with a wide range of South African businessmen who were keen to develop business opportunities in South Sudan. He said the South African government had also agreed to provide funds to encourage and support South African business interests willing to invest in South Sudan. ¶5. (SBU) Benjamin said in Zimbabwe the chief purpose of his visit was to thank the government for its long past support of the SPLM during the war years, and to try to encourage President Mugabe to bring peace to that nation through an alliance with his political opposition in a new national unity government. ¶6. (SBU) In Djibouti and Ethiopia, he said he explored creating new trade corridors as an alternative to shipping goods through the Kenyan port of Mombasa. This new route would be more than 300 kilometers shorter than the current Mombasa to Juba road, and might offer a more reliable and cheaper alternative to transshipping goods through Kenya. ¶7. (SBU) In Kenya, Benjamin said he was able to sign an agreement to allow students from Southern Sudan to enroll in local colleges and universities at seriously discounted local tuition rates, instead of at the rates normally charged to foreigners. ¶8. (SBU) In closing the briefing, Benjamin announced that Russia would soon open a consulate in Juba, and he said he welcomed this newest member of the diplomatic community to the ever- growing number of countries that have a presence in Southern Sudan. ¶9. (SBU) COMMENT: In the run-up to the 2011 referendum on Southern self-determination, the GOSS is eager to establish its international credibility and make as many international contacts as possible. The GOSS sees an Egyptian commitment to recognize an independent south post-2011 and a Russian diplomatic presence in Juba as significant steps along that path. FERNANDEZ