2010 (JUBA) — South Sudan ruling party reassured China that its investments in the semi-autonomous region will be protected if the southerners vote for independence in January 9 referendum.
“The largest investment in southern Sudan today is Chinese. They have invested billions of dollars in the oil sector, and have a large number of Chinese workers in the oil fields,” said Pagan Amum, secretary general of the south’s ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM).
“We have given assurances to the Chinese leadership delegation to protect the Chinese investments in southern Sudan, and are desirous to see more investment in the future,” he further said.
Amum made these remarks to the Agence France Presse after a meeting with a delegation from the Chinese ruling Communist Party on Friday.
Anne Itto, south Sudan’s minister of agriculture, and SPLM deputy secretary general told reporters after her return from China last August that the Chinese government fears that its assets in Sudan’s oil would be “a waster” if the south opts for secession.
“A lot of wild rumors have been getting to them, that if the south separates, there will be insecurity, and if there is insecurity, their assets worth billions of dollars in the form of pipelines and so on will have been a waste,” she said.
Anne added that she had told Chinese officials that “if they want to protect their assets, the only way is to develop a very strong relationship with the government of Southern Sudan, respect the outcome of the referendum, and then we will be doing business.”
Pagan said they asked the visiting Chinese delegation to put pressure on the northern Sudan ruling National Congress Party to avoid the return of war after the referendum.
“We discussed with the delegation the role of China to support peace in Sudan, especially to prevail on the NCP not to take the country back to war again,” he said.
There are less than three months for the referendum on self-determination but relations between the two signatories of the 2005 deal remain dominated by tension and mistrust with many outstanding issues including the border demarcation, Abyei referendum and Sudan’s debit.
Khartoum said it would only accept the outcome of the referendum if it is conducted in a faire and free manner. The NCP accuse the SPLM of working to intimidate the southerners and dissuade them from voting for unity.
(ST)