India–South Sudan relations are the bilateral ties between the Republic of India and the Republic of South Sudan. India recognised South Sudan on 9 July 2011, the day South Sudan became an independent state. India maintains an embassy at Juba, and South Sudan maintains an embassy in New Delhi. History India remained neutral during the First Sudanese Civil War (1962-72) and the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983-2005). The Southern Sudan Autonomous Region was established at the end of the First Civil War. Indian President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed visited the region in December 1975, and addressed the Regional Peoples' Assembly in Juba. According to the Embassy of India in Khartoum, "On the whole, the visit to Juba made it evident that the Southern Sudanese have deeper respect for India." Indian engagement with South Sudan increased after the end of the Second Civil War. Then Indian Minister of State for External Affairs E.A. Ahamed attended the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement on 9 January 2005 in Nairobi. From 2006, India began inviting South Sudanese citizens for training and exchange programmes in India. India opened a consulate in Juba in August 2007. India formally recognized South Sudan on 9 July 2011, the day it declared independence, and Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari attended the country's independence day celebrations in Juba. In a letter to South Sudanese President Salva Kiir, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wrote, "India stands ready to share its development experience and extend whatever assistance possible to South Sudan. I am confident that our co-operation will grow from strength to strength in the coming days for the mutual benefit of our two peoples." The Indian government has stated that it was willing to assist in developing infrastructure, training officials in health, education and rural development. A Foreign Ministry official stated, "We have compiled a definite road map using (sic) which India can help South Sudan." The Consulate General in Juba was upgraded to an embassy in March 2012. President Salva Kiir attended the Third India Africa Forum Summit in New Delhi in October 2015, and also held a bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the first state visit by a South Sudanese President to India. Economic relations Pramit Pal Chaudhuri wrote in the Hindustan Times that South Sudan "has other attractions. As the Indian Foreign Ministry's own literature notes, South Sudan [is] 'reported to has (sic) some of