Saudi King invites Bashir to attend ASPA meeting in Riyadh

October 19, 2015 (KHARTOUM) -The Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir has received an invitation from the Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz to participate in the fourth Summit of South American and Arab Countries (ASPA) scheduled for November 2015, in Riyadh.

Sudanese-Saudi relations have witnessed a thaw in recent months after years of tensions over Khartoum’s close ties with Tehran that saw Iranian warships dock several times in Port Sudan.

Last March, Sudan joined the Saudi-led military coalition against Houthi rebels who are accused by Riyadh of being a proxy to Iran in the region.

The Saudi ambassador to Khartoum, Faisal bin Hamid Mualla, told the official news agency SUNA on Monday that he handed al-Bashir “a written letter from his brother King Salman bin Abdel-Aziz inviting him to participate in the ASPA meetings which will be hosted by Saudi Arabia in November”.

The Saudi ambassador pointed to the distinct ties between Sudan and Saudi Arabia and mentioned the importance of Bashir’s participation in the meetings because of his contributions in the Arab region.

ASPA is a mechanism for South-South cooperation and policy coordination in multilateral forums.

Brazil proposed its creation in 2003, with the aim of bringing political leaders and civil societies of South American countries and the member countries of the League of Arab States closer together and promoting diplomatic coordination on issues of common interest.

(ST)