VZCZCXRO5407
OO RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMA RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHROV
RUEHTRO
DE RUEHKH #0328 0691557
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 101557Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3209
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 000328 
 
DEPT FOR AF A A/S CARTER, AF/SPG, AF/E 
NSC FOR MGAVIN AND CHUDSON 
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN 
ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV ETRD MOPS MARR KPKO UNSC SU EG CF UG RU
SUBJECT: GOSS MINISTER BENJAMIN SAYS EGYPT WILL RECOGNIZE AN 
INDEPENDENT SOUTH IN 2011, RUSSIA WILL OPEN CONSULATE SOON 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: In a March 5th meeting with the international 
community in Juba, Government of South Sudan (GOSS) Minister for 
Regional Cooperation (the GOSS' de facto foreign ministry) Barnabas 
Benjamin gave a briefing on his latest tour of regional capitals on 
behalf of the GOSS.  His top accomplishment, he said, was gaining a 
commitment from the Government of Egypt to recognize an independent 
Southern Sudan should the South choose to vote to become a sovereign 
nation in its 2011 referendum.  Benjamin also announced that Russia 
would soon open a consulate in Juba.  End Summary 
 
¶2. (SBU) In a briefing to the international community on his recent 
visits to African capitals, Minister Benjamin said that his visit to 
Egypt was the highpoint in that the GOE had, for the first time, 
committed to him that it will recognize the GOSS as a sovereign 
nation if the people of the South vote for independence in 2011. 
This, he said, was a dramatic shift in their policy and one that the 
GOSS welcomed. 
 
¶3. (SBU) In the DRC, Benjamin said he was able to negotiate an 
agreement that allows the SPLA to venture up to 15 kilometers across 
the border when in hot pursuit of LRA rebels.  He also said that the 
government agreed to meet with the GOSS and the Government of Uganda 
soon for joint discussions on how to better work together and 
coordinate their efforts to capture Joseph Kony and finally 
dismantle the LRA.  In other talks with DRC officials, he said he 
had secured trade agreements that would open up lucrative markets 
for Southern Sudanese agricultural products, and most especially 
beef exports.  The main hold up in implementing these agreements is 
the insecurity on the DRC - Sudan border created by the operation of 
LRA elements in the area. 
 
¶4. (SBU) In visiting South Africa, he said he had met with a wide 
range of South African businessmen who were keen to develop business 
opportunities in South Sudan.  He said the South African government 
had also agreed to provide funds to encourage and support South 
African business interests willing to invest in South Sudan. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Benjamin said in Zimbabwe the chief purpose of his visit 
was to thank the government for its long past support of the SPLM 
during the war years, and to try to encourage President Mugabe to 
bring peace to that nation through an alliance with his political 
opposition in a new national unity government. 
 
¶6. (SBU) In Djibouti and Ethiopia, he said he explored creating new 
trade corridors as an alternative to shipping goods through the 
Kenyan port of Mombasa.  This new route would be more than 300 
kilometers shorter than the current Mombasa to Juba road, and might 
offer a more reliable and cheaper alternative to transshipping goods 
through Kenya. 
 
¶7. (SBU) In Kenya, Benjamin said he was able to sign an agreement to 
allow students from Southern Sudan to enroll in local colleges and 
universities at seriously discounted local tuition rates, instead of 
at the rates normally charged to foreigners. 
 
¶8. (SBU) In closing the briefing, Benjamin announced that Russia 
would soon open a consulate in Juba, and he said he welcomed this 
newest member of the diplomatic community to the ever- growing 
number of countries that have a presence in Southern Sudan. 
 
¶9. (SBU) COMMENT:  In the run-up to the 2011 referendum on Southern 
self-determination, the GOSS is eager to establish its international 
credibility and make as many international contacts as possible. 
The GOSS sees an Egyptian commitment to recognize an independent 
south post-2011 and a Russian diplomatic presence in Juba as 
significant steps along that path. 
 
FERNANDEZ