Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry will meet on Tuesday with his Sudanese counterpart, Al Dirdiri Mohamed Ahmed, who is on his first official visit to Cairo since his appointment.
According to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, the talks, which will be held at the ministry’s headquarters in Cairo, are expected to discuss Egyptian-Sudanese relations and regional issues of common concern. The two ministers will hold a joint press conference following their meeting.
“Discussions will focus on ways and means to strengthen relations between the two countries and their peoples, and activating the mechanisms approved by President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi at more than one summit to resolve the outstanding issues,” Sudan’s Ambassador to Cairo Abdel Mahmoud Abdel Halim said.
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, the diplomat said that talks would also touch on Arab and African affairs, especially the situation in Libya, Yemen and Syria, as well as enhancing coordination between the two countries in international and regional forums.
He explained that the talks between the ministers would specify the appropriate date for the meetings of the two countries’ ministers of foreign affairs and intelligence chiefs, which is supposed to take place in Khartoum.
The ambassador revealed that a meeting will be held in Cairo for the cooperation committee between the countries of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia regarding the Renaissance Dam on June 18-19, and would gather the ministers of foreign affairs, irrigation and intelligence to follow-up on the agreements reached in Addis Ababa earlier this month.
Relations between Khartoum and Cairo were strained earlier this year, as Bashir accused Cairo of supporting Sudanese dissidents. In turn, Egyptian media have repeatedly accused Khartoum of harboring members of the Muslim Brotherhood, which Cairo considers a terrorist organization.
Tension between the two countries has also increased due to differences over Ethiopia’s construction of the Great Renaissance Dam on the Nile River, and Sudan’s explicit support for the Ethiopian position. Egypt fears that the dam will affect its share of Nile waters.
Sisi and his Sudanese counterpart agreed in March to overcome their differences and strengthen security ties and cooperation at the first bilateral summit that was held in Cairo following the crisis.
