Sudanese President awards Egyptian Ambassador First-Class Order of Two Niles

CAIRO – 24 September 2018: Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir awarded on Monday the First-Class Order of the Two Niles to the Egyptian Ambassador in Khartoum Osama Shaltout, honoring him for his efforts to promote bilateral relations.

During a meeting with the Egyptian ambassador at the Republican Palace in Khartoum, al-Bashir stressed the strong bilateral relations between the two countries, and Sudan’s interests to promote them, achieving the common interest of the two peoples.

In the same context, Shaltout expressed his thanks and appreciation to the Sudanese government in a statement with MENA.

“The wisdom of two countries’ leadership led to strengthening bilateral relations through upgrading the ministerial committee to a higher committee at the presidential level, as 23 summits were held between President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and President al-Bashir, indicating the deep strategic relations between the two countries and their common destiny,” Shaltout added.

In July 2018, 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 upcoming period. They asserted that relations between the two countries are on the right track.

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

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.

It has been agreed to “continue implementing the outcomes of the Addis Ababa-held Egyptian-Sudanese-Ethiopian tripartite summit on the Renaissance Dam to carry out the Declaration of the Renaissance Dam Principles Charter that was signed on March 23, 2015 in Khartoum,” said President Sisi in a joint press conference with Bashir.

Egypt has voiced its concern over Ethiopia’s dam construction, as it would affect Egypt’s 55 billion cubic meter share of the Nile water. However, Addis Ababa sees the dam is necessary for its development and argues it would not negatively affect the downstream countries (Egypt and Sudan).

On the bilateral level, President Sisi emphasized during the conference that his country is keen to “maintain the national security of both countries.”

Egypt’s relations with Sudan were recently strained over the disputed border area of Halaib and Shalateen. On December 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.