Egyptian-Sudanese relations witness massive development

CAIRO – 30 August 2018: Following years of frosty relations between the two neighboring countries, Egypt and Sudan, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry asserted on Wednesday that Egyptian- Sudanese relations are “holy”, emphasizing their “strength”.

In a press conference with his Sudanese counterpart Mohamed Ahmed, Shoukry asserted the importance of enhancing cooperation between the two countries to remove any impurities. The relations between the two countries are expected to witness a great development during the upcoming period.

Last month, Sisi paid his first visit to the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, where he met with his Sudanese counterpart Omar al-Bashir.

The two presidents discussed several issues regarding boosting bilateral relations between the two countries and cooperation on all levels. Moreover, Bashir visited Cairo on March 19 where both leaders discussed the outstanding issues of mutual interest, based on the agreement reached at the recent Addis Ababa tripartite summit.

Many politicians asserted that the two parties agreed to lower the intensity of disputes in the coming period. They asserted that the relations between the two countries are on the right track.

Are Egyptian-Sudanese relations on the right track?

CAIRO - 19 March 2018: The two Nile River neighbors, Egypt and Sudan, have common bonds of history, language and religion. But, diplomatic relations have been frosty over the past years due to various reasons. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir will visit Cairo on Monday amid frequent attempts to solve a number of controversial issues between the neighboring countries.

Sisi’s visit to Sudan paved the way to end the dispute over the border area of Halaib and Shalateen.

On Dec. 23, 2017, Sudan filed a complaint to the United Nations Secretariat to protest a maritime border demarcation deal between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, as the deal denotes the territory as Egyptian on maps.

Halaib and Shalateen, or the Halaib Triangle, is an area of land measuring 20,580 square kilometers located at the Egyptian-Sudanese border on the Red Sea coast. It is part of the Red Sea governorate and consists of three major towns: Halaib (which became a city in February 2014), Abu Ramad and Shalateen.

Sisi arrives in Khartoum, meets with Sudan's Omar al-Bashir

CAIRO - 17 July 2018: President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi arrived Thursday in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum in his first visit to the country since he was re-elected for president last March. President Bashir welcomed Sisi at the airport, where the national anthems of the two countries were performed during the welcome ceremonies.

Shoukry held on Wednesday a meeting with his Sudanese counterpart Mohamed Ahmed to discuss mutual security. Shoukry said that the discussion tackled achieving the common interests of Egypt and Sudan and stressed the importance of the partnership between the two countries.

For his part, Sudan’s foreign minister offered his appreciation to the Egyptian people and to President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi for their continuous support and medical aid for the Sudanese people who were afflicted with heavy rainfall and floods.

The meeting also took up means of enhancing bilateral relations, along with other issues of common concern.

As for regional issues, Egypt’s foreign minister welcomed Sudan’s tireless efforts to achieve peace in South Sudan, which resulted in signing a power-sharing deal between rivals there.

At the press conference, Shoukry lauded the efforts of the Sudanese government to bring about stability in all parts of the country, urging all parties to respond to Sudan’s initiatives for dialogue and settlements.

The talks tackled security in the Red Sea, the situation in the Horn of Africa and the Nile water file along with the latest developments in the negotiations pertaining to the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

For his part, the Sudanese foreign minister asserted Sudan’s keenness to develop the historical, deeply-rooted relations between both countries in all domains.

Ahmed asserted that both sides are committed to holding meetings between the Egyptian-Sudanese ministries on time.

On Tuesday, the Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Ezziddin Abu Steit discussed with his Sudanese counterpart Abdullah Suleiman Abdullah means to intensify joint cooperation and give a new boost to integration between both countries in the agriculture, livestock and fisheries sectors.

They also agreed to start taking all procedures needed to boost trade exchange of agricultural crops and livestock products between both countries and remove all obstacles that face the flow of exports and imports between them both.

Also, Transport Minister Hesham Arafat discussed with his Sudanese counterpart Ibrahim Yousif ways of fostering bilateral cooperation in the transport domains.

The Egyptian and Sudanese officials mulled means of holding the joint technical committee on land transport, according to a protocol signed between both countries. The committee is set to remove all obstacles in order to facilitate bilateral cooperation.