Sudan and Egypt FMs and spy chiefs to meet on Thursday
February 5, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said the Egyptian and Sudanese Foreign Ministers and heads of intelligence services of the two countries will meet on Thursday in Cairo to discuss bilateral relations and regional issues of common interest.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Ahmed Abu Zeid, said the meeting “takes place under the directives of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and President Omar al-Bashir after their last meeting on the sidelines of the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa”.
He pointed out that the two leaders agreed “to establish a quadripartite consultation mechanism between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and the intelligence services of both states in order to promote solidarity and cooperation between the two brotherly countries”.
“The meeting will include bilateral talks at the level of the Foreign Ministers, as well as between the heads of the two intelligence services, and then they will hold quadripartite talks followed by a press conference by the two Foreign Ministers,” he added.
Al-Bashir and al-Sisi met last week on the sidelines of the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa following rising tensions between the two countries over a number of issues.
The meeting agreed to form a joint political and security committee to develop a roadmap to end tensions and resolve differences which have almost destroyed relations between the two countries.
The tumultuous relations between Sudan and Egypt experienced last December a new crisis over media attacks against al-Bashir after a visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Sudan. Also, Sudan accused Egypt and Eritrea of supporting rebel groups to attack Kassala state on the eastern border.
But the main differences remain the dispute over the border triangle area of Halayeb and the construction of Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam that Sudan backs.
(ST)