Sudan, UAE discuss joint military cooperation

March 22, 2016 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s defence minister Awad Ibn Ouf Tuesday has discussed with a visiting senior military delegation from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) the prospects of joint cooperation between the two nations.

Following his meeting with the delegation which is headed by the UAE’s head of security and military intelligence Aqab Shaheen al-Ali, Ibn Ouf stressed the strength of the historical ties between Sudan and the UAE.

According to Sudan’s defence ministry website, the visit comes within the framework of the military contacts and security and training cooperation between the two countries.

For his part, al-Ali expressed gratitude and happiness for visiting Sudan, saying the visit comes within the context of strengthening bonds of brotherhood between the two nations.

Last week, Sudan and UAE signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on security cooperation between the two countries on the sidelines of the seventh edition of the International Exhibition for National Security and Resilience (ISNR) in Abu Dhabi.

Sudan appears to have managed to achieve a breakthrough in ties with UAE after a long period of strained relations over Khartoum’s close ties with Tehran.

UAE is in a long-standing territorial dispute with Iran over the three Gulf islands of Abu Musa and Greater and Lesser Tunb.

Iran refuses international arbitration over the dispute and insists that its sovereignty over the islands is non-negotiable.

Last year, Sudanese authorities ordered the closure of Iranian cultural centre in the capital Khartoum, and other states in a move which was seen as gesture to the Arab Gulf states.

(ST)