Sudan, Egypt leaders agree to set up ministerial mechanism to deal with bilateral issues
January 27, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – Egyptian and Sudanese presidents Saturday agreed to form a joint ministerial committee to tackle the outstanding issues between the two countries.
In a meeting held on the sidelines of the African Union summit in Addis Ababa, President Omer al-Bashir and his counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi discussed the recent tensions between the two courtiers after the visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
In press statements after the meeting, Sudan’s foreign minister Ibrahim Ghanour said the two presidents underlined that the relationship between the two countries is irreversible.
Foreign Minister Ghandour said the two leaders agreed that the relationship between the two countries is irreversible, as the two countries for a long time, formed a single country but also it is a relationship between two peoples, which have blood ties and share a common history.
Ghandour added the two leaders directed the foreign ministers and directors of security and intelligence services to hold an urgent meeting to develop a roadmap to restore the relationship to the right track and to avoid any future problems that could affect bilateral relations.
The relations between Sudan and Egypt are strained since the removal of the Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in a military coup on July 3, 2013. Since.
The Egyptian government suspects Sudan of backing the Egyptian Islamists. Also, Khartoum speaks about support to rebel groups particularly in Darfur region through the Libyan general Hafter who is supported by Cairo.
Recently Sudan said Eritrea with the support of Egyptian government is supporting Sudanese rebel to attack the country from the eastern border. Khartoum even went to deploy troop on the border with Eritrea.
Following a rebel attack in North and South Darfur states in May, Cairo and Khartoum agreed to set up a joint security committee over the activities of Darfur armed groups through the northern border.
Ghandour and his Egyptian counterpart met on Friday to discuss the strained relations and agreed on the need to enhance consultations and coordination between the two countries.
“We agreed that we should work together through different institutions to remove any misunderstandings that affect bilateral relations and to put the relationship on the upward path for the benefit of the two peoples because what really binds them are bonds of love and brotherhood,” he added.
Besides the different political orientations, the two government diverge over the disputed border area of Halayeb and the Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam.
The accusations of support to opposition groups or the ban of Egyptian agricultural products are the result of this outstanding issues.
(ST)