Official Summit Report 6th-7th June 2011 Nairobi, Kenya

The South Sudan Summit (SSS) took place on the 6th and 7th of June at the Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya. Government of South Sudan officials and representatives from international agencies, donors, NGOs and private sector companies met with a view to addressing the main infrastructure and logistics challenges facing the new country. During the morning plenary sessions, individual ministries and agencies presented their current projects and outlined the opportunities available to local and international private sector companies. In the afternoons, attendees held private pre-scheduled one on one meetings forging new relationships and creating serious business opportunities.

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The Summit opened with a brief welcome address by CEO James Ramsey, from the organisers Entico Corporation. Keynote speaker Ambassador Anthony Holmes, Deputy Commander United States African Command (AFRICOM) then called on the Government of South Sudan to make it clear what their main development priorities are and how the international community can help them to achieve those goals.

Following the opening addresses, the first morning panel session entitled ‘Investment, Reconstruction and Trade Requirements for South Sudan’ began with Robin James, a Director at Aggreko presenting potential interim power solutions for South Sudan. Mr James then introduced H.E. Stephen Dhieu, Minister, South Sudan Ministry of Commerce and Industry who emphasised the business friendly environment in South Sudan. Next we welcomed to the stage HE Dr. Daniel Peter Othol, Head of Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) Mission to UK & Ireland whose presentation concluded the first session.

The second panel, ‘Security, Stability and De-Mining’ was expertly chaired by Simon Falkner OBE, Managing Director of Veterans Security Services Ltd. The first speaker, Lt. Col. Wisdom Etuk, Military Assistant to the Force Commander, United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) explained the various elements of national security that, if addressed successfully, could help create a panacea to economic development challenges. Zlatko Gegic, Project Advisor at Sudan Integrated Mine Action Service (SIMAS) then spoke about the impact of landmines and other explosive remnants of war on development in South Sudan. Major (Ret’d) Chris Hunter, a Director of Kratos Enterprises Ltd, ended the session with an insightful presentation about the latest methods of combating improvised explosive device attacks.

The third and final panel of the first day explored ‘Sustainable Development, Logistics & Infrastructure Projects’ and was chaired by Timothy Snell, Bid Team Manager at Supreme Group. Mr Snell introduced the speakers, starting with Rodolf Ring Majok, Director of Planning at the South Sudan Ministry of Communications and Postal Services. HE Chuor Deng Mareng, Advisor to the Ministry, South Sudan Ministry of Energy and Mining then gave an overview of the power, energy and mining situation and investment opportunities in South Sudan. Emphasising Kenya as a potential gateway to South Sudan, Hon. Dr. Oburu Oginga MP, Assistant Minister, Kenya Ministry of Finance was the final speaker on day one.

After lunch and throughout the afternoon of day one, key decision makers from Government of South Sudan ministries and the international organisations in attendance engaged in pre-scheduled face-to-face meetings with the participating delegates. There were around 30 dedicated meeting areas to enable the participants to maximise the potential of their participation.

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Day two opened with the ‘Water Resources, Agriculture & Food Security’ panel, chaired by Anders Vidhav, Managing Director of JOSAB. The first speaker, HE Dr Anne Itto Leonardo, Minister, South Sudan Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry focused on how South Sudan could feed itself and potentially become the bread basket for the region. Emmanuel Ladu, Director of Planning, South Sudan Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation then spoke about the Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) Strategic Framework and the proposed scope of investments in water management infrastructure. Kur Ayuen, Business Consultant, Rhino Stars Supplies & Construction Co. Ltd completed the panel by highlighting some of the ongoing bridge and road construction projects: crucial to improving transportation in rural areas.

The second panel, ‘Healthcare, Disaster and Emergency Response’ was chaired by Martijn Gevers, Sales Director at SMIT Mobile Equipment. The first speaker, Doug Brooks, President of the International Stability Operations Association (ISOA) addressed the issue of how the private sector can help the Government of South Sudan in stability, development and disaster response operations. Abdi Mohamed, Head of South Sudan Office, World Health Organisation (WHO) then gave a summary of the main heath care challenges in the different regions of South Sudan. Owadia Ogillo, Associate Country Director, ADRA South Sudan concluded the panel by pointing out some alarming social indicators and stressing the need for a well coordinated response by the Government, UN, NGO’s and the private sector.

The final panel, entitled ‘Human Resources, Training and Capacity Building,’ was chaired by Gurashi Al Khabir, Chairman, Al Gurashi International Services & Investment Co. Ltd. The first speaker, HE Mary Jervas Yak, Minister, South Sudan Ministry of Human Resources Development, began the session by outlining the formal education and public sector training plans for the medium and long term future. Mustafa Biong Majak, Director of Information, South Sudan Ministry of Information spoke about the plans to improve communications infrastructure and increase access to TV, radio and newspapers. The panel was concluded by Francis Luwangwa, United Nations Development Program who outlined UNDP’s capacity development approach and a South Sudan vision for 2040: “to build an exemplary nation: a nation that is educated and informed; prosperous, productive and innovative; compassionate and tolerant; free, just and peaceful; democratic and accountable; safe, secure and healthy; and united and proud.”
After another networking lunch, once again key decision makers from the Government of South Sudan ministries and the international organisations in attendance engaged in pre-scheduled face-to-face meetings with the participating delegates.

Entico would like to thank all of the official guests, sponsors and delegates who contributed to the success of the summit. We trust you found value in the quality of speaker presentations and appreciate the cooperation from the officials, agencies and companies to participate in the meeting and networking sessions.

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