Sisi congratulates Sudanese people as political accord initialed

CAIRO - 17 July 2019: Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi congratulated the Sudanese people on Wednesday after the transitional military council and the Forces of the Freedom and Change (FFC) initialed a power-sharing political agreement.

The accord reached earlier in July and initialed on Wednesday is believed to pave the way for democracy and smooth power transition in Sudan, following the ousting of President Omar al-Bashir in April.

President Sisi received on Wednesday Colonel General Hashem Abdel Muttalib Ahmed Babakr, Sudan's army chief of staff, who was appointed by the military council few days after the ousting of Bashir.

Babakr reviewed the developments in Sudan, and the steps taken by the military council to deal with the current situation and the development of negotiations with the FCC, as well as the political agreement signed on Wednesday in Khartoum, presidential spokesman Bassam Radi said.

The Sudanese military leader also met with Egyptian Army Chief-of-Staff Mohamed Farid.



Babakr and his accompanying delegation have been in Cairo to attend the sixth meeting of the Egyptian-Sudanese Joint Military Committee hosted by Cairo from July 14 to 18.

The meeting between the two military leaders discussed means of supporting military cooperation and joint exercises, and highlighted the necessity of transferring and exchanging experiences between the armed forces of both countries, according to a press release.

They also discussed continuing efforts to work together to secure borders, combat terrorism and counter infiltration and smuggling operations.

Babakr and Farid have chaired the Joint Military Committee meeting, during which they discussed a number of issues and topics of common interest and prospects for cooperation in defense and security fields.

The Sudanese military leader underlined the depth of the historical relations between Egypt and Sudan, praising the efforts exerted by the Egyptian political leadership to support the efforts of security, stability and development in all African countries in light of Egypt's presidency of the African Union for 2019.

Farid affirmed the convergence of views and perspectives between the two sides on the challenges and security threats facing the region. He expressed the hope that the next phase will see further cooperation in all military and security issues in the framework of the strong strategic relations between the two countries.