Ethiopian Airlines has been selected to act as the official carrier at the celebrations marking the independence of South Sudan.

The nation officially became the newest country in the world on July 9th after a process that got underway in 2005.

In 2006, Ethiopian Airlines added Juba - which is now the capital city of South Sudan - to its network and last month it started running flights to Malakal as well.

As the official carrier for the celebrations, the firm will transport invited guests and VIPs to the new country and has worked in tandem with the government to help Juba's airport cope with the surge in traffic.

Tewolde Gebremariam, chief executive officer of Ethiopian Airlines, commented: "Ethiopian has been committed to connect the Republic of Southern Sudan to the rest of the world offering convenient connection to/from the rest of Africa, Europe, US, the Middle East and Asia."

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