Sudan praises Egypt’s stance regarding Darfur

CAIRO – 19 April 2017: The letter sent from Omar Dahab, Sudan’s delegate to the UN, to his Egyptian counterpart is a certificate of appreciation to Egypt and its historical stance towards Sudan, Head of the Parliament’s African Affairs Committee Mostafa el-Guindy said Wednesday.

In his letter, Dahab extended his gratitude to Egypt for its positive stance towards Sudan, regarding the Darfur issue.

“The words of praise in the letter defeated all allegations, defamations and lies claiming that Egypt was working against Sudan’s interest,” Guindy said in a statement.

Tensions have recently erupted between Egypt and Sudan, following allegations of Egypt’s support for maintaining an arms embargo in Darfour, west Sudan.

The letter revealed that someone wants to create a dispute between Egypt and Sudan through ungrounded lies, Guindy stated, affirming that “historical and brotherly relations between Egypt and Sudan cannot be broken and that Egypt will continue to support Sudan in all international and regional forums.”

Guindy also referred to the importance of Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry’s visit to Sudan, scheduled Thursday, saying that the visit will tackle bilateral cooperation between Cairo and Khartoum regarding all regional and international issues, as well as political and economic affairs.

Sudanese media outlets reported earlier this week that the deputy permanent representative of Egypt had called to maintain the sanctions imposed on Sudan during an informal consultations meeting with the Security Council Committee.

Egypt officially denied the allegations. “The Sanctions Committee looking into the situation in Darfur has not discussed in its recent meetings the issue of extending sanctions against Sudan,” Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid said. He added that the Security Council had already extended sanctions for another year in February.

U.N. Security Council Resolution 1591 (2005) regarding Sudan included an arms embargo, travel ban and assets freeze. “All states shall take the necessary measures to prevent the supply of arms and related materiel of all types and also of technical training and assistance in relation to actors operating in Darfur,” the resolution states.