South Sudan joins the East African bloc

(Reuters) – East African heads of state admitted South Sudan as a member the regional bloc Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) on Friday, some four months after the nation proclaimed independence.

“The Republic of South Sudan … has taken a pro-active measure for membership to IGAD, and their membership was approved by the summit,” Mahboub Maalim, IGAD executive secretary, told reporters following a meeting of heads of state.

South Sudan was admitted to the African Union (AU) some two weeks after its independence on July 9, the culmination of a peace agreement following a brutal two-decade civil war.

The country is one of the world’s poorest and has inherited a string of disputes with its northern neighbour after its people voted in a January referendum to break away from Sudan — a decision accepted by Khartoum.

Representatives of the two countries have resumed AU-mediated talks this week on solving outstanding issues such as demarcation of their porous border and oil revenue-sharing.

The U.N. General Assembly admitted South Sudan on July 14 as the 193rd member of the United Nations.