Sisi, Bashir agree to continue bilateral cooperation to meet peoples' aspirations

CAIRO – 25 October 2018: Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi said Thursday, Oct. 25 that the past six months witnessed holding several meetings and joint committees between Egypt and Sudan at various levels.

The meetings and committees included the four-way meeting, the political consultation mechanism meeting, and the Joint Permanent Technical Committee for Nile water, President Sisi said.

In a joint press conference with his Sudanese counterpart Omar al-Bashir in Khartoum, Sisi stated that he is confident that the coming period will witness further bilateral efforts, within the framework of implementing the strategic partnership document signed between the two countries in 2016, meeting the aspirations of the two peoples.

Egypt Today displays parts of President Sisi's speech during the press conference with the seventh president of Sudan and the head of the National Congress Party:



At the outset, I would like to express my sincere thanks and deep appreciation for the warm welcome and hospitality we received in our second country, the brotherly Sudan, during this visit, which underscored the depth and strength of the fraternal ties and neighborliness that have bound our countries.

I would also like to express my great happiness with the tangible momentum witnessed by Egyptian-Sudanese relations during the recent period, which are culminated today in the meetings of the second session of the joint Egyptian-Sudanese Presidential Committee.

Brothers and sisters,

The constant truth is that days and years have only granted our brotherly relations more firmness, strength and ability to deal with any foreign interference, and contrived problem. It reflects how much peoples of the two countries aspire to greater integration and interdependence between the interests of the north and south of the valley, as the two countries possess human capabilities and natural resources rarely possessed by any two neighboring countries in the world.

Mr. President,

In the past period, the project of linking the two countries [in terms of electricity] has been launched. This project will [push forward] the current cooperation between our two countries to a new level, based on the implementation of joint strategic projects that enhance trade and investment opportunities and in light of the importance of energy projects for advancing all aspects of our economic and development relations.

This month, Khartoum also hosted the first meeting of the committee to [establish] a railway link between the two countries, another strategic project to enhance the transit of people and goods between our countries.

Our joint efforts today are culminated by signing twelve memorandums of understanding and an executive program to enhance cooperation between our two countries in many fields, all of which are opening up further prospects for developing our bilateral relations.

Our meeting today comes at a very important time, as it sends a message of hope and optimism for the future of integration between the two brotherly countries at a time when our region is witnessing developments that end decades of conflicts, which resulted in the loss of thousands of lives and caused great damage to the peoples' resources.

I would like to assure you, Mr President, of Egypt's full support for your constructive efforts in achieving regional security and stability, which led to the signing of a settlement agreement by our brothers in southern Sudan.

I am confident that our joint efforts to achieve regional security will continue and expand to attain security in the Red Sea region, in coordination with the neighboring Arab and African countries.

Bashir calls for facilitating transit of people, goods

For his part, the Sudanese president expressed his keenness to enhance the joint relations between Egypt and Sudan to the extent that satisfies the aspirations of the peoples of the two countries, stressing the need to remove obstacles in the movement of goods and citizens between the two countries.

Bashir said that Sisi's visit to Sudan has provided the momentum required for furthering the joint relations between the two states.

Bashir highlighted the role played by Sudan in achieving security and peace in the region, which succeeded, under the umbrella of Djibouti-based Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in bringing the brothers in the Republic of South Sudan together to sign an agreement in Khartoum, ending the conflict and bloodshed."

He affirmed that Sudan is currently "striving" to bring together the parties in the Central African Republic in coordination with the African Union to achieve peace and stability.