Sudan, Egypt FMs to meet in April to contain “muffled crisis”
March 21, 2017 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour and his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shukry will meet in Khartoum in the first half of April in an attempt to contain a muffled crisis between the two countries.
Tensions between Khartoum and Cairo have escalated following the former’s decision to restrict imports of Egyptian farming products which was reciprocated by Cairo’s decision to raise residency fees for Sudanese living in Egypt.
Also, senior Sudanese border demarcation official Sunday disclosed that Sudan’s foreign ministry has instructed the concerned bodies to develop a roadmap to end the Egyptian presence in the disputed area of Halayeb triangle.
Some Egyptian media outlets have recently launched a negative campaign ridiculing Sudan’s cultural monuments and in particular the 4,600 years old Meroe Pyramids following the visit of the Queen Mother of Qatar Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser Al-Missned to the Sudanese pyramids.
In a phone conversation on Tuesday, the two top diplomats expressed “absolute rejection for insults directed at the two brotherly countries and peoples under any circumstances and for whatever reasons or justifications”.
According to a joint press release extended to Sudan Tribune, the two ministers stressed the need “to respond with utmost wisdom to the irresponsible handling of relations by some media outlets and social media users who seek to harm these strong relations against the higher interests of the two peoples”.
The two ministers expressed “full appreciation to culture, history and civilisation of both countries”, saying the River Nile has strengthened bilateral ties and common destiny between the two countries over the ages.
The press release pointed out that “the two ministers agreed to hold the next political consultation meeting in Khartoum at the level of the foreign ministers during the first half of April 2017”.
It underlined the commitment of the two ministers to the directives issued by the political leadership of both nations to work continuously to strengthen the bonds of cooperation, solidarity and joint coordination.
The two top diplomats further said they would move forward with the implementation of cooperation programmes that were adopted during the recent meetings of the Egyptian-Sudanese Higher Committee (ESHC) headed by President Omer al-Bashir and President Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi.
(ST)