South Sudan is moving forward with a major trade and transport corridor initiative that would link the country with Ethiopia and the Port of Djibouti. The project, which is part of a wider effort to boost regional integration and commerce, would provide landlocked South Sudan with direct access to a vital international shipping route.

This initiative follows a meeting in Juba on Wednesday between President Salva Kiir and Ethiopia’s Special Envoy and Minister of Finance, Ahmed Shide Mohammed. The leaders discussed a range of bilateral economic issues, including the proposed corridor, which is expected to ease the movement of goods and reduce the costs of regional trade. The talks also touched on a potential partnership with Ethiopian Airlines to help establish and manage a new national carrier for South Sudan.

According to Sudans Post, this collaboration would build on a 2023 Memorandum of Understanding that would give Ethiopian Airlines a 49 percent stake in the future airline.