RDS's Weekly Event- Southern Sudan

14/02/2011

On Friday, the 11th of February, The Richmond Diplomatic Society (RDS) hosted Dr. Daniel Othol, the Ambassador of Southern Sudan to the United Kingdom at the Richmond Hill Campus. This particular event addressed the recent movements and the establishment of the new African country.

The Vice President and Dean of Enrolment, Mr. Mark Kopenski, and Provost, Mr. Bob Leopard, welcomed Dr. Othol and joined the panel of speakers during the event. The panel included Dr. Michael Keating, Associate Professor of International Political Economy and Mr. Saed Sarsur, the President of RDS.
Officers from the Diplomatic society of Royal Holloway University, who made a strategic cooperation agreement with RDS last week, also joined the event.

“I am honoured to be present at such a prestigious institution, and I would like to thank the RDS and its president for inviting me here today... Southern Sudan needs the assistance of its brothers and neighbours, the Africans, in order to establish a strong democratic system. We still don’t know who will control the natural resources in the south, however we believe that we can create a formula that can work for both the north and south. Our priority is to build the country and provide decent services for our citizens. As a medical doctor, I believe that the development of a healthcare system should be on the top of our priorities and I will do my best for it. I hope to see the international community investing in our economy which can be the strongest on the African level," said Dr. Daniel Othol.

“It will be interesting to see the reaction of the international community; the new government should save human rights firstly, provide decent services secondly, and create a situation where Southern Sudan can be a strong African player. Southern Sudanese should govern themselves with the assistance of the international community. We don’t want to see the officers of the World Bank taking charge. The resources should be managed so the Southern Sudanese can benefit from it," said Dr. Keating.

Mr. Saed Sarsur added,“The new government should be focusing on building three main fundamental elements. Firstly, a strong education system, secondly a strong healthcare system, and finally a strong economy. Education, healthcare and economy can build the structure of a strong modern country. The international community, the developed countries and the international institutions should provide assistance to Southern Sudan in order to create a promising bright future. As a young generation, our obligation is to be engaged in such topics, and as international Richmond students, we feel duty to raise this topic.”

Mr. Mark Kopenski contributed by saying, “I am proud of our students and the Diplomatic Society who chose to meet here on a Friday evening and talk about Southern Sudan. I am confident that you are probably the next leaders of the world. As an international institution, we provide the best we can to our students in order to see them active and effective towards both the international community and society. I want to thank His Excellency for his visit, and we hope to see his country growing.”

A thank-you goes out to Mr Alex Ivanov, RDS Communications Officer, who managed the event. The event was covered by RTV and will be podcast in the next episode.

Link to this page: http://www.richmond.ac.uk/n/1049.aspx