ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - South Sudan’s finance minister on Thursday said the government is attempting to mediate the conflict in Sudan, expressing the hope that peace will return in Sudan soon. “We are trying to mediate the conflict in Sudan. With the support of the UN and the Security Council, I think the crisis in Sudan will be addressed and hopefully we will see peace in Sudan soon,” South Sudan Finance Minister Bak Barnaba Chol told Rudaw’s Diyar Kurda on the sidelines of the 78th UN General Assembly in New York City. The ongoing civil war in Sudan erupted in mid April 2023 as a conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), under the command of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), under the leadership of Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. Earlier this month, al-Burhan was received by South Sudanese President Salva Kiir in Juba, and expressed his belief that South Sudan is the best-placed actor to mediate among the parties in Sudan. “We got our independence through support from the region first of all and support from very powerful developed countries like the United States of America. They stood firm in supporting our rights and fighting for the independence of our country,” said Barnaba Chol, reflecting on South Sudan’s path to independence. “We continue to receive support from the USA and from different countries in the world including the region, so we have good relations with the United States of America and with so many countries in the world, including Sudan,” he added. The high-level week of the 78th annual UNGA commenced on Tuesday and will continue through next week. Hundreds of world leaders and delegates have gathered in New York to attend the event, with around 150 heads of states and governments set to deliver speeches. The theme of this year’s summit is “Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity: Accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all.”
