Egypt, Sudan agree on signing media charter of honor

CAIRO- 21 April 2017: Egypt and Sudan agreed to sign a media charter of honor between both countries, after media outlets stirred a controversy over Meroë Pyramids, Thursday.
Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry and his Sudanese Counterpart Ibrahim Ghandour announced in a joint talk that media outlets of two countries will coordinate to sign the charter to “to maintain the two states’ supreme interests.” Shoukry is paying Khartoum a two-day visit to enhance bilateral relations.
In March, Sudanese Minister of Information Ahmed Bilal Othman claimed in a press conference that Pharaoh of Exodus is a Sudanese king who ruled Egypt and the Sudanese Meroë Pyramids are 2,000 older than Giza Pyramids.
“Those who deliberately mock…falsify the facts; they do not know that Moses-era Pharaoh was one of the Sudanese pharaohs who ruled Egypt,” said Othman in a press conference, held on March 20 after a visit paid by Qatari Sheikha Moza bint Nasser to the Sudanese Pyramids.
Sudanese Minister’s remarks came after an Egyptian T.V. host Azmi Megahid criticized Moza’s visit to Meroë Pyramids and said that the Sudanese pyramids are like cheese triangles if they were compared with Egypt’s Pyramids of Giza.
The remarks sparked controversy and anger among social media users; Hossam Mohamed tweeted that Pyramids of Sudan are an evidence of that it was a part of Egypt.
Egyptian T.V. host’s criticism also was slammed by Sudanese social media users via creating a hashtag #اهرامات_السودان (#Sudan’s_Pyramids).
Egyptian archaeologist and former Minister of Antiquities Zahi Hawass said that Sudanese Pyramids go back to 2,500 years, while Giza Pyramids are 5,000 years old. He added that Egypt has 123 pyramids and the first one built was Pyramid of Djoser.
Egyptian and Sudanese Foreign Ministries issued a joint statement, refusing such controversial remarks and highlighted the strong bilateral relations.
“The two ministers underlined their full rejection of any transgression or abuse against any of the two countries and their brotherly people, under any circumstance or excuse. They stressed the necessity to act with maximum wisdom in dealing with any attempt to foment sedition, or with the irresponsible users of the social media who aim to harm the solid relations and the vital interests of the peoples of the two brotherly countries,” the statement read.
President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi also met with Sudan's Minister of State and Director of the Sudanese President's Office, Mr Taha Osman al-Hussein who delivered a letter from Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to Sisi, according to a statement from Egyptian Presidential Spokesperson Alaa Youssef on March 23.
The letter confirmed the historic and brotherly relations that bind the two countries and Sudan's keenness on collaborating with Egypt to enhance cooperation, Youssef added.
Egypt and Sudan have a dispute over the sovereignty of the Halayeb Triangle, which is locate on the border between both sides. The border dispute is due to conflicting maps drawn by occupying British forces; one in 1899 says that the triangle belongs to Egyptian territories and the second in 1902, showing the triangle as a Sudanese possession.