The president of South Sudan will visit neighbouring Sudan tomorrow for last gasp talks aimed at averting the shutdown of oil flows across their border.
President Salva Kiir will make only his second visit to Khartoum since South Sudan’s secession two years ago, ahead of the September 6 deadline to cut off the pipeline between the two countries.
Oil flows only resumed in April, after a 16-month shutdown following border disputes between the two countries, but Sudan accused its neighbour of supporting rebel operations and said it would be closing the pipeline.
Landlocked South Sudan needs the line to export oil to the coast, with the African Union having stepped into try and mediate the dispute.
Kiir and foreign minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin will travel to Sudan on Tuesday to discuss cooperation between the two countries, both states’ news agencies reported.