The Sudan-South Sudan Dialogue Group (SSSDG) headed by General Lazaro Sumbeiywo has paid a visit to Northern Bahr el Ghazal State. The group comprises various prominent persons from both nations.

Gen. Sumbeiywo, the chair of the group, was the chief mediator of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement and previously served as Commander of the Kenyan Army.

SSSDG is backed by the Carter Center, the US organization that monitored the elections in Sudan in 2010.

According to a journalist in Aweil, the visit aimed at consolidation of peace between the two Sudans, especially in the border states. Speaking to Radio Tamazuj last Thursday, he said that the delegation met with the Northern Bahr el Ghazal State Governor Paul Malong.

He noted that the delegation aimed to tour markets on the common border in Warawar, Majok Nyin Thieu and Gok Machar areas. The visiting delegation is also scheduled to proceed to Sudan. 

The co-chair of the group is Ambassador David Kapya, Tanzania’s former envoy to Sudan, and other members of the delegation included Musa Almak Kur, deputy chairman of the South Sudan Islamic Council and former governor of Greater Upper Nile State, and Abdelrasoul Ismail Alnoor, former governor of Kordofan State.

Various academics from Sudan and South Sudan also participated in the group including and Dr. Samson Wassara, Dr. Mohamed Osman, Dr. Mohamed Harooon, and Prof. Pauline Riak.