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Farirai Machivenyika Senior Reporter
A special envoy of the President of South Sudan, Mr Salva Kiir Mayardit, yesterday paid a courtesy call on President Mugabe at his Munhumutapa offices to brief him on the peace process in the country and ways to boost bilateral relations.

The special envoy, Mr Awan Guol Riak, who is also South Sudan Minister in the Office of the President, expressed his country’s gratitude for the assistance it had received from Zimbabwe and expressed their desire for President Mugabe to attend their country’s fifth independence celebrations on July 9.

“The meeting was very excellent and fruitful. I brought the letter of my President, Salva Kiir, to President Mugabe.

“It was on two important areas. Firstly, it was to brief the President on the peace process of our nation, which is the youngest nation in the world and the negotiations going on,” he said.

“It was also on our bilateral relations with Zimbabwe. We know of the support you gave us during the years of our struggle. We need to co-operate in various areas from ministry to ministry.”

Minister Riak said they would want the respective ministries of Foreign Affairs in the two countries to work on modalities that would see the two Heads of State and Government exchange visits to cement ties.

“We would want to initiate ways the ministries of Foreign Affairs will work to see the presence of our President in your country and we would want also to see President Mugabe during our independence celebrations where we will sign memoranda of understanding in various areas,” he said.

He said some of the areas of co-operation included agriculture, education and security.

The Republic of South Sudan got its independence in 2011 following a decades-long conflict with the predominantly Muslim northern Sudan.

Zimbabwe has been sending police officers under the ambit of the United Nations to provide security in the new nation.

South Sudan has, however, been torn by internal strife since December 2013 pitting government forces and opposition forces loyal to Dr Riek Machar.