Relationship dossier
South Africa
South Sudan
Relationship assessment
Bilateral cooperation agreements accompany South Africa’s support for South Sudan’s state-building and peace efforts.
South Africa toward South Sudan
+20South Africa signed bilateral cooperation agreements with South Sudan in 2012, including areas such as education, health and trade, and has supported South Sudan’s state-building and peace efforts.
South Sudan toward South Africa
+20South Sudan signed bilateral cooperation agreements with South Africa during President Salva Kiir’s 2012 visit, covering areas such as education, health and trade.
Overall relationship
+20The relationship includes bilateral cooperation agreements and South African support for South Sudan’s state-building and peace efforts. The known cooperation is meaningful but its scope and implementation are unclear.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
South Africa and South Sudan have pursued bilateral cooperation, including agreements signed during South Sudanese President Salva Kiir’s 2012 visit to South Africa in areas such as education, health and trade. South Africa has also supported South Sudan’s state-building and peace efforts. The breadth and implementation of bilateral cooperation are unclear.
Key developments
During President Salva Kiir’s visit to South Africa, the two governments signed bilateral cooperation agreements in areas including education, health and trade.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of the agreements signed in 2012 are unclear.
- Details of subsequent South African government assistance and South Sudanese cooperation with South Africa are limited.