The meeting, organised by the Uganda Embassy in Juba in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other government agencies, brings together senior government officials, security leaders, local authorities and private sector representatives from both countries.
The engagements are intended to operationalise a July 2025 directive issued by President Yoweri Museveni and South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit calling for regular joint border meetings to institutionalise bilateral cooperation.
Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Uganda's Ambassador to South Sudan, Brig. Gen. Ronnie Balya, said the discussions are critical to advancing trade and addressing persistent challenges affecting communities along the shared border.
He outlined four key priorities for the talks: expanding trade and economic cooperation through improved market access and standards; strengthening customs and revenue administration to facilitate efficient cargo clearance; enhancing security through joint patrols and intelligence sharing; and improving migration management, health surveillance and refugee coordination.
Balya also called for a lasting solution to recurring border incidents that have occasionally resulted in deadly confrontations between Ugandan and South Sudanese security personnel.
He revealed that a joint technical committee established to resolve border demarcation issues is expected to complete its work by 2027, although progress has been slowed by inadequate funding.
"We need to resolve border challenges and ensure that our policies reflect the lived realities of communities along the border," Balya said.
South Sudan's Governor of Central Equatorial State and head of delegation, Anthony Emmanuel Adil, urged both countries to accelerate implementation of the directives issued by the two presidents.
He said resolving outstanding issues would strengthen bilateral cooperation and deliver tangible benefits to citizens on both sides of the border.
Adil also stressed the importance of sustained engagements at both local and national levels to address issues affecting livelihoods and the welfare of border communities.
During the meeting, officials are expected to develop resolutions and a roadmap to eliminate bottlenecks at border crossings and facilitate the seamless movement of goods along the Central and West Nile trade corridors.
The discussions are also focusing on promoting peaceful coexistence through structured community dialogue, resolving tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade, strengthening border security through coordinated intelligence sharing and joint patrols, and harmonising customs and immigration procedures in line with East African Community protocols and bilateral agreements.
The delegations include senior officials from the ministries responsible for foreign affairs, trade, defence, internal affairs, justice, lands and revenue administration, alongside security and intelligence agencies, border district leaders and representatives of the private sector.
South Sudan remains Uganda's third-largest export market, with Uganda exporting manufactured goods, food products and construction materials while importing livestock, hides and skins, gum arabic, sesame, metals and petroleum products.
During peak trading periods, more than 600 cargo trucks cross the Elegu-Nimule and Oraba-Kaya border points each day, supporting the livelihoods of more than four million people living in border communities across the two countries.
The latest talks come against the backdrop of recurring security and trade challenges that have tested relations between the two neighbours in recent years, despite their strong economic ties.
Cross-border trade has periodically been disrupted by insecurity along the Juba-Elegu highway, attacks on cargo transporters and occasional border disputes involving security forces, prompting calls for closer military and intelligence cooperation.
Uganda has previously deployed the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) to South Sudan to help stabilize the security situation and protect key infrastructure and trade routes as conflict threatened to disrupt commerce between the two countries.
In March 2025, Parliament approved another UPDF deployment to South Sudan amid renewed political tensions in Juba, with Kampala citing regional stability and the protection of Uganda's strategic economic interests as key considerations.
The two countries have also faced periodic tensions over the poorly demarcated common border. Last year, clashes between Ugandan and South Sudanese forces around the Kajo-Keji-West Nile frontier displaced thousands of civilians and underscored the urgency of completing the boundary demarcation exercise.
A joint technical committee is now working to resolve the remaining border disputes by 2027, although officials say progress has been slowed by funding constraints.
Despite these challenges, South Sudan remains one of Uganda's most important regional export destinations, with the two governments keen to ensure that goods continue to move smoothly through the busy Elegu-Nimule and Oraba-Kaya border crossings, which handle hundreds of cargo trucks every day and support millions of livelihoods on both sides of the border.