Sudanese ambassador to return to Cairo soon: FM Shoukry

CAIRO – 28 January 2018: Sudanese Ambassador to Egypt Abdel Mahmoud Abdel Halim will return to Cairo soon to resume his job, said Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sameh Shoukry, during his current visit to Addis Ababa.

Sudan has recalled its ambassador from Egypt on January 4 for consultations, according to the Sudanese foreign ministry, without giving details on why or how long he would stay.

Bilateral relations have been soured by tensions over several issues, including the border area Hala’ib Triangle and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

A tripartite summit between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia is set to be held on a presidential level on Sunday on the sideline of the 30th summit of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa to discuss the controversial issue of GERD.

In an interview with ON Live, Shoukry said that the African Summit will address all the aspects of terrorism phenomenon in terms of the extreme groups’ ideologies and developing a comprehensive approach to counter terrorism and dry its financial resources, whether from associations or countries that sponsor these organizations for political purposes. The summit will also promote cooperation and exchange of information between the African countries.

Shoukry has met Friday with his Sudanese counterpart, Ibrahim Ghandour, on the sidelines of the 30th AU Summit in, to stress the depth of the historical relations between the two countries.

The two ministers agreed on immunizing the bilateral relations against rumors and fake media reports, and to take serious measures to restore their ties to its natural course. Both officials stressed the patriotic responsibility of media in the two countries, and the necessity of not paying attention to any rumors that may harm their relations.

The meeting also discussed the GERD issue and the Egyptian initiative to to include the World Bank in the tripartite technical committee's talks on the issue.

On the other hand, Shoukry pointed out that President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi will chair the Peace and Security meeting in the AU Summit on Sunday, stressing that terrorism adds to pressure on all African countries, especially with the move of foreign militants and organizations from the battlefields in Iraq and Syria to the African arena through Libya.