President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir Acknowldges South's Independence

9 July 2011—(Juba) —The President of the Republic of Sudan, Omar Hassan Al-Bashir officially acknowledged the formation of the new Republic of South Sudan.

Bashir spoke during the Independence celebration of the Republic of South Sudan, in Juba on Saturday.

[Omar al-Bashir] “We have continued on this path for the sake of maintaining peace, and even though we hoped for the unity of the country, but for the sake of peace, we recognized the separation of the South from the united Sudan, which then led to the formation of a new country, that we (the government) have formally recognized yesterday in Khartoum the new Republic of South Sudan”

Bashir reiterated his government’s commitment to assist, the Republic of South Sudan.

[Omar al-Bashir] “We are ready to assist the new born republic of South Sudan, in all areas namely technical and administrative. We are also ready to assist them with services alongside other things which the people of the new republic will request of us. Some people predicted that we might stand on the way of the referendum exercise, but that didn’t happen as the referendum took place peacefully. And when the results were released, some thought we might choose not to recognize the results, but we have recognized the loud voices of the southerners, who had freely chosen their destiny”

Bashir stressed that the two countries will work together for the sake of peaceful co-existence.