{"id":39458,"date":"2025-09-05T10:12:51","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T08:12:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/?p=39458"},"modified":"2025-09-05T10:12:51","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T08:12:51","slug":"parliament-passes-south-sudan-uae-visa-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/05\/parliament-passes-south-sudan-uae-visa-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"Parliament passes South Sudan-UAE Visa deal"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
South Sudan\u2019s lawmakers weighed strategic diplomacy against domestic risks in UAE visa deal deliberations | Photo by Alan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Alan Clement<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Transitional National Legislative Assembly (<\/em><\/strong>TNLA) has passed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between South Sudan and UAE which proposes reciprocal visa exemptions.<\/p>\n

While some legislators hailed the agreement as a strategic move toward international integration, others raised alarms over its equity, security, and geopolitical risks.<\/p>\n

Despite all these the MOU was passed.<\/p>\n

Speaker Jemma Nunu Kumba confirmed that the MoU had undergone scrutiny by the relevant committee and ministries.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe document has passed through all due legal processes. Security concerns have been considered to ensure national safety is not compromised,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The agreement, tabled for parliamentary review, proposes unrestricted entry for UAE nationals but limits South Sudanese travelers to diplomatic visas. Calling the provisions one-sided, Dr. Henry Omai Akolawin of Upper Nile State raised concerns over fairness.<\/p>\n

\u201cArticle 1 is the heart of the memorandum. It grants full visa exemptions to UAE citizens, but South Sudanese only qualify for diplomatic visas. Where is the equity in that?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

The Mou also faced resistance on security grounds with Atem Garang De\u2019kuek of Jonglei State (SPLM) warning that closer ties with the UAE could complicate South Sudan\u2019s fragile relations with Sudan, through which its oil exports flow. \u201cThe UAE is considered Sudan\u2019s number one enemy, and our oil passes through Sudan. If Sudan closes that route, what are we going to do?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

Garang also raised alarms about potential terrorist threats and illicit trade. \u201cThe Middle East is where terrorism originates. Opening our doors to Emirates could invite disorganization. The suitcase business bringing electronics from UAE is akin to money laundering. We shouldn\u2019t allow that,\u201d he emphasized.<\/p>\n

However, not all lawmakers opposed the arrangement as one member of parliament reminded members that South Sudan is a sovereign state free to pursue international agreements in its national interest. \u201cSouth Sudan is an independent country. No external issue, including Sudan\u2019s oil politics, should prevent us from signing agreements that serve our national interest,\u201d said the member of parliament.<\/p>\n

Boutrous Alison Magaya representing Maridi defended the MoU, citing UAE\u2019s global reputation. \u201cThe UAE is a top investment destination and one of the safest countries in the world. We\u2019ve not witnessed terrorist activity there. Any agreement that connects us to the international community and lifts our economy should be welcomed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Although the Speaker cleared the MoU for consideration several lawmakers remained opposed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Alan Clement The Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) has passed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between South Sudan and UAE which proposes reciprocal visa exemptions. While some legislators hailed the agreement as a strategic move toward international integration, others raised alarms over its equity, security, and geopolitical risks. Despite[Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":39459,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[80,79],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Parilament.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39458"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39458\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39461,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39458\/revisions\/39461"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}