Jordan supports South Sudan entry into Arab League

AMMAN — Jordan supports the Arab consensus regarding a request by South Sudan to join the Arab League, an official said on Thursday.

South Sudan has officially submitted an official request to the Secretariat of the Arab League to join the organisation, according to the government official.

"We will support the Arab consensus on this issue as Jordan has always been with the consensus over issues of concern to the Arab world," the source said.

The source added that the application was presented to the Arab League Council at the level of foreign ministers in its 149th session at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the League.

The source said the Arab foreign ministers did not vote on the request to join the league following a protest by Sudan on the issue.

If South Sudan succeeds, it will be the 23rd country to join the Arab League, founded in 1945 with the aim of becoming a regional organisation of Arab states aimed at developing the region's economy, resolving disputes and coordinating their political aims.

The source added that some Arab countries voiced reservations over South Sudan's joining the league due to its relation with Israel.

In 2011, South Sudan almost unanimously voted to declare independence from the north in a referendum.

The independence vote had been promised as part of a 2005 peace deal which ended decades of conflict between the two regions, costing an estimated 2 million lives.