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    October 05, 2011

US Senate Considers America's First-Ever Ambassador to South Sudan

   Michael Bowman | Capitol Hill
   US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Affairs, Susan Page
   (file photo)
   Photo: AP
   US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Affairs, Susan Page
   (file photo)

   The U.S. Senate has taken an important step to solidify America's
   relationship with the world's newest nation, South Sudan. The Senate
   Foreign Relations Committee held a confirmation hearing Wednesday for
   the first-ever nominee to be U.S. ambassador to South Sudan, which
   declared its independence from Sudan this past July.
   South Sudan is a nation of great promise and great challenges,
   according to Democratic Party Senator Chris Coons of Delaware.
   'Fierce fighting in the [Sudanese] regions of South Kordofan and Blue
   Nile has resulted in death, displacement, and a lack of access for
   humanitarian workers," said Coons. "South-South violence is also
   significant. Poverty is endemic. Health, education and infrastructure
   are all seriously inadequate. And despite these challenges, South Sudan
   is a place of hope for millions of residents who have waited decades
   for their freedom.'
   President Barack Obama's nominee to be the first U.S. ambassador to
   South Sudan is Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Susan Page, who is
   no stranger to the new country. During South Sudan's long push for
   independence, Page served as a legal advisor to the Sudanese mediation
   process and helped draft provisions of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace
   Agreement, which ended Sudan's north-south civil war.
   She told the committee of America's priorities for the new nation.
   'Our main interests in South Sudan are stability, strengthening
   democracy, economic viability, and internal and regional peace and
   security," said Page. "Our focus will remain on promoting a peaceful
   relationship between the Republic of South Sudan and the Republic of
   Sudan. The United States will need to assist the South in navigating
   these challenges - maximizing civilian protection, individual human
   rights, and fundamental freedoms.'
   Page added that South Sudan will need continued U.S. assistance to help
   transform the country's former freedom fighters, the Sudan People's
   Liberation Army, into a professional force under civilian control.
   The Obama administration has requested just over $500 million in aid
   for South Sudan for the coming year, much of which will be devoted to
   security and governance initiatives, as well as education and health
   care.
   Page said South Sudan has enormous and pressing economic and
   developmental challenges - as well as a valuable resource.
   'South Sudan will receive an estimated $4 to 5 billion in oil revenues
   annually, and will have the necessary resources to invest in strong
   institutions run by capable individuals," she said. "This is a unique
   opportunity to get it right, by managing its resources efficiently,
   creating fiscal transparency, ending corruption, and avoiding the
   pitfalls that beset so many resource-rich nations.'
   Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Susan Page, testifying at her
   Senate confirmation hearing as America's first ambassador to South
   Sudan. Senators of both parties expressed strong support for her
   nomination. A full vote by the U.S. Senate on her nomination has yet to
   be scheduled, but is anticipated in the coming weeks.