MOSCOW, September 28. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin will on Thursday hold a meeting with President of South Sudan Salva Kiir who will be on an official visit to Russia.

According to the Kremlin press service, the parties are expected to discuss the prospects for relations between the two countries in various fields, as well as regional and international issues. This will be the first meeting between the two leaders.

On South Sudan

South Sudan, which was part of Sudan until 2021, is bordered by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda, the Central African Republic and Ethiopia.

Kiir, 72, has been serving as the head of state since South Sudan became an independent state in the summer of 2011. Since then, the country has been through waves of armed clashes between rival groups. The conflict broke out after the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, which had fought for independence from Sudan, split into Kiir’s supporters and opponents. The Nuer ethnic group rallied around their fellow tribesman Riek Machar, leader of the armed opposition, while government troops were mostly made up of Dinka people, the ethnic group that Kiir belongs to. They eventually managed to make a peace agreement, which, however, was not joined by numerous opposition groups, and clashes continued until recently.

South Sudan’s cooperation with Russia, BRICS

South Sudan’s Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Bak Barnaba Chol told TASS earlier in September that the country considered Russia’s role in Africa as significant and was interested in economic cooperation. Salva Kiir, in turn, said that South Sudan was interested in joining BRICS. According to him, the country would seek a partner in the group that would be able to offer assistance in boosting agricultural and industrial production.