GOSS MINISTER BENJAMIN SAYS EGYPT WILL RECOGNIZE AN

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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