Khartoum and Juba agree to open a river crossing and implement deployment of joint forces

Sudan and South Sudan decided to open the Kosti river crossing and implement the deployment of joint forces on the border between the two countries.
On January 12, Khartoum and Juba agreed to deploy joint forces on the 1,800-kilometre border, with the aim of securing to prevent the infiltration of illegal weapons and to fight the negative forces.
The joint political and security mechanism between the two countries held its 20th session in the capital, Juba, from January 17-20, and discussed a number of issues.
The Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, in a statement, according to “Sudan Tribune,” on Saturday; that The committee “decided to open the Kosti river crossing and study facilitating the movement of citizens of the two countries through the four freedoms system.”
The statement indicated that the committee discussed the implementation of the formation of the joint forces on the borders, based on the agreement that took place between the President of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council and the President of South Sudan.
The 20th session, in which the defense and foreign ministers of the two countries and representatives of political and security institutions participated, discussed ways to activate the cooperation agreements signed between the two countries since September 2012, especially in the fields of oil, trade and customs cooperation.
Business began flowing between Sudan and South Sudan following the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir in April 2019, after the two countries improved relations.
The volume of trade exchange between Khartoum and Juba is estimated at about $1.5 billion, as the northern states of southern Sudan and some of its cities depend on Sudanese goods.