September 2, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - In a telephone call on Wednesday, Qatari Prime Minister Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani congratulated his Sudanese counterpart Abdallah Hamdok for the conclusion of a peace agreement with the armed groups.

The first high-level contact between Qatari and Sudanese officials confirms reports about efforts by the two countries to improve bilateral relations following a misunderstanding with the leadership of the Transitional Military Council that took place after the ouster of former President Omer al-Bashir.

Al-Raya newspaper said that Al-Thani spoke with Hamdok on Wednesday evening to congratulate him on the agreement initialled with the Sudanese Revolutionary Front and Sudan liberation Movement of Minni Minnawi on Monday 31 August.

"During the call, they reviewed the cooperation relations between the two brotherly countries and means of supporting and strengthening them in various fields and raising them to wider levels," reads a statement published in the state-owned daily in its website.

In a speech delivered at the initial signing ceremony, President Salva Kiir thanked the leaders of the United Arab Emirates and the State of Qatar for the financial support provided to the peace process.

Also, Qatari special envoy for conflicts resolution visited Juba twice recently. During his second visit last August, he met with the head of the Sudanese Sovereign Council Mohamed Hamdan Daglo Hemetti and travelled to Khartoum for meetings with Hamdok and the head of the Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

(ST)