KHARTOUM (Xinhua) -- Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Ahmed Karti on Tuesday said Sudan will be the first country to open embassy in Juba, capital of South Sudan which opted for separation in recent self-determination referendum.

“Sudan will work to be the first country to open an embassy in Juba to mark the establishment of positive diplomatic ties with the newly born South Sudan State,” Karti said in a statement presented to Sudanese National Assembly (parliament) on Tuesday.
“The newly born state will not be a barrier between us and the current neighboring countries in eastern and central African but it will be a gate and a model for the distinguished relations with these countries,” he added.
The Sudanese minister further described his country's relations with the neighboring African countries as “positive.”
He reiterated the importance of reactivating Sudan's relations with its Arab and African surrounding, saying “Sudan's relationship with the African Union will remain as one of the most important guarantees for positive interaction and support. We should also continue the joint action within the Arab League.”
Around 98.83 percent of the southern Sudanese have voted in favor of the region's separation in the recent referendum on self- determination for South Sudan, where the newly born state would be officially announced on July 9, 2011, which is the end of the transitional period stipulated by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), inked between north and south Sudan in 2005.