Relationship dossier
South Sudan
Sudan
Relationship assessment
Practical cooperation on oil and security amid unresolved border and political tensions
South Sudan toward Sudan
+5South Sudan signed cooperation agreements with Sudan in 2012, including arrangements concerning oil transit, security and border issues. These agreements created practical cooperation, although disputes and conflict have complicated their implementation.
Sudan toward South Sudan
+5Sudan signed cooperation agreements with South Sudan in 2012 and provided for South Sudanese oil to transit through Sudan’s pipeline and export infrastructure. Oil and border disputes, as well as conflict in Sudan, have complicated this cooperation.
Overall relationship
0The relationship combines practical interdependence, particularly through South Sudanese oil exports using Sudanese infrastructure, with unresolved border and security issues. The 2012 agreements established a framework for cooperation, but recurring disputes and conflict have limited its stability.
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 Sudan and Sudan have had a consequential but unsettled relationship since South Sudan’s independence in 2011. Their 2012 cooperation agreements addressed oil transit, security, border issues and other matters, creating practical channels for cooperation. Disputes over oil, border areas and security, alongside conflict in Sudan, have complicated implementation and kept the relationship fragile.
Areas of tension
- Disputes over oil transit and related payments
- Unresolved border demarcation and the status of Abyei
- Security concerns and allegations connected to armed groups
Key developments
South Sudan and Sudan signed a package of cooperation agreements covering oil, security, border issues and other areas.
South Sudanese oil exports resumed through Sudanese infrastructure under arrangements reached by the two governments.
Major uncertainties
- The current implementation of bilateral oil-transit, security and border arrangements is unclear.
- The extent of ongoing government cooperation on border security and disputed areas is uncertain.
- The effects of Sudan’s conflict on bilateral arrangements and relations remain unclear.