Despite Israeli media reporting on an Israeli delegation visiting Khartoum this Sunday, neither the Sudanese Foreign Ministry nor the military council at the transitional authority confirmed receiving a notice or an agenda regarding the anticipated visit.
Last Tuesday, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that an Israeli delegation will visit Khartoum on Sunday to discuss with Sudanese officials the process of normalizing relations between the two countries.
The visit will be the first since US President Donald Trump announced last month that Sudan would start normalizing ties with Israel with the two set to sign deals covering agriculture, trade, aviation and migration.
Omar Gamar Aldin, Sudan’s acting Foreign Minister, told Asharq Al-Awsat that neither his ministry nor the cabinet were informed of the visit at all.
“I am the foreign minister in charge and I have not been contacted at all about anything related to Israel,” Aldin confirmed.
“The Foreign Ministry has not been notified of any visit of an Israeli delegation. We learned of the visit, like others, from the media,” he added.
An Israeli source told the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation that the delegation will include experts and officials from the National Security Council and the Foreign Ministry.
Last week, Asharq Al-Awsat quoted a senior Sudanese official saying that the Israeli delegation will be composed of experts from different nationalities, including Israelis, and that the visit was not arranged by the state.
The delegation is informal and made up of experts, the official said, adding that it was likely invited over to Sudan by a group of businessmen, not the government.
Tel Aviv also did not receive a request to approve the delegation’s departure.
Sudanese officials are known to handle the issue of normalization with absolute secrecy. They do not leak any information, allowing Israeli media to always report the news first.
