Foreign Minister Ramadan Goc meets French Ambassador to South Sudan Christian Bader in Juba. June 28, 2024. (-)

South Sudan’s foreign minister appealed to the French government to ease a three-month visa approval for an unspecified number of South Sudanese basketball and athletic fans set to attend the Paris Olympic.

Foreign Minister Ramadan Mohammed Goc discussed the visa challenges facing South Sudanese in a meeting with French Ambassador to South Sudan Christian Bader on Friday.

Mr. Goc encouraged Paris to grant the Schengen visa – an entry permit for non-European Union nationals to make a short, temporary visit of up to 90 days to a country in the EU.

“The minister ….welcomed the ambassador and extensively discussed matters concerning visa challenges to South Sudanese nationals as well as France nationals visiting South Sudan for official businesses,” a press statement from the foreign ministry said.

The statement also said Minister Goc underscored the challenges facing the entire world regarding visa issues mostly the Schengen visa.

It was stated that the meeting requested the French envoy to encourage investors to “invest in South Sudan particularly in the agricultural sector and other areas that could be used to create job opportunities for South Sudanese people.”

On his part, Ambassador Bader reportedly pledged France’s support to people of South Sudan specifically on investment opportunities while acknowledging the importance of visa for South Sudanese to attend the games.

“We have a very extensive and fruitful meeting on many issues. The first one which is not the core issue when it comes to bilateral relations is the problem that we now face with the Olympic games in Paris and the issue of visa,” Bader said.

“We know that this event will be very important for South Sudan since you have all these athletes.”

South Sudan made a historic qualification for the 2024 Olympic Games, after the national basketball team defeated Angola in Manila in their last game of the 2023 FIBA World Cup, while Egypt lost to New Zealand.