Sudan hails Egypt’s decision to block opposition conference in Cairo

August 18, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese government has applauded the decision of Egyptian authorities to block the general convention of the opposition coalition known as the National Front led by Ali Mahmoud Hassanein which was scheduled to be held in Cairo last Saturday.

Sudan foreign minister Ali Karti described the move as a “positive precedent” by preventing an event by an opposition group that is hostile to the regime in Khartoum.

He said during his meeting with Egyptian ambassador in Sudan Osama Shaltout that there was no justification for holding opposition activities or ones hostile to Sudan abroad.

Karti stressed the keenness of Khartoum to invite everyone to participate in the national dialogue initiative, and not to exclude any political party including the armed movements while providing adequate safeguards.

The four-day conference was to be held under the banner “Unity of the opposition to overthrow the regime and not to have dialogue with it”.

In a related issue, Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir received a telephone call today from his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, expressing his wishes of good health and wellness for him after he underwent surgery recently to replace his left knee joint.

Sisi renewed his invitation for Bashir to visit Egypt for the sake of cementing bilateral relations and discussing issues of common interest. Bashir promised to satisfy the invitation at the right time.

The Egyptian leader had visited Khartoum briefly in June on his way from African Union summit in Equatorial Guinea, and discussed with Bashir bilateral relations and the issue of the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

(ST)