South Sudan’s Kiir to visit India

South Sudan president, Salva Kiir will later this month set foot in India on the invitation of his Indian counterpart, Pranab Mukherjee. The visit, the government website reported, will aim at strengthening bilateral relations between India and the two-year old nation India’s special envoy to South Sudan, P.S. Raghavan on Friday met president Kiir during which he delivered Mukherjee’s message. Both Kiir and the Indian envoy reportedly discussed issues of bilateral relations, economic development and capacity building programs. Kiir, according to South Sudan’s new foreign minister, Barnaba Marial Benjamin expressed deep regret over the killing of Indian peacekeepers by militias in a remote part of Jonglei state last April. At least five Indian soldiers, working for the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) were killed in an ambush by unidentified attackers in the country’s largest state. India recognised South Sudan on 10 July 2011, a day after the latter became an independent state.