US backs launch of new southern Sudan

WASHINGTON — The United States, a key broker of the 2005 peace accords, is throwing considerable diplomatic and economic support behind the July 9 launch of the new state of southern Sudan, analysts say.Despite tight budget times, officials said, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) expects to maintain its level of development funding at between $250 million and $300 million a year."The commitment of the US government for development supporting this new country is really going to continue the way it was," a US government official told AFP on condition of anonymity, contradicting fears that the grossly underdeveloped region will slip off the international agenda after independence.After the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) ended a 22-year-old civil war, Washington set up programs to promote health and education, boost farming, and build roads as well as electrical and water systems.It also launched other programs to train officials in a southern Sudan that has been autonomous from the north-based government for six years and overwhelmingly chose full independence in a January referendum.USAID has also funded conflict-resolution programs such as those aimed at encouraging young southerners to find jobs rather than opt for cattle-raiding.Washington is seeking to support agriculture because it has great economic potential and helps diversify the economy away from oil, which accounts for around 98 percent of the government's income.Sudan analyst Jon Temin told AFP that despite US budgetary constraints, which he said could limit development funding, "south Sudan is a real priority for the US government within Africa and probably globally."So I expect the US will be deeply invested in the south for some time to come," according to Temin, who heads the Sudan program at the United States Institute of Peace.Not only has the United States long "taken real ownership over the peace process," he said, it has also "developed a pretty deep friendship" with the south for both humanitarian

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