Egypt’s President Al Sisi in Sudan capital for talks with Al Bashir

Egyptian President Abdelfattah Al Sisi arrived in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum today on a one-day visit for a joint round of talks with President Omar Al Bashir at the Republican Palace. Several cooperation agreements were signed.

A Sudanese government official said before the meeting that Al Bashir would discuss the political issues of common interest between the two countries, the regional and international situations of mutual concern, and development of cooperation in all fields.

The meeting between Sisi and Al Bashir was preceded by meetings between business leaders of the two countries and the ‘quadripartite meeting’, which included the Foreign Ministers and security chiefs of Egypt and Sudan.

The final communique issued at the conclusion of the talks via the official Sudan News Agency (SUNA) states: The current year has witnessed various activities at all levels toward bolstering the fruitful cooperation and cementing the ties between the two countries and realising the ambitions of the two Nile Valley peoples toward implementing the strategic partnership document under the direct sponsorship of the leaders of the two countries”.

Expanding cooperation

The communique has pointed to the directives of the leaders of Sudan and Egypt for cementing the bilateral relations and “expanding the scope of cooperation and interests for guaranteeing a better future for the two peoples”.

It referred to the visit by President Al Bashir to Cairo on 19 March 2018 and the agreement on implementation of major cooperation projects toward boosting the economic, trade and investment relations between Sudan and Egypt.

The final communique also stated that the meetings of the joint technical committee at the level of senior officials were held in Cairo during 7-8 August, followed by meetings of the joint ministerial committee during 28-29 August, as well as meetings of the joint technical committee in Khartoum on 23 October, followed by the meeting of the joint ministerial committee on 24 October and the reaching of agreements, memoranda of understanding and executive programmes.

The communique announces that in today’s meetings, 12 documents on the cooperation between Sudan and Egypt in the trade, agricultural, health, education, higher education, information, youth and sports, immigration, the exchange of experiences and capacity building and diplomatic training fields were signed.

The third session of the joint presidential committee is scheduled to be in Cairo in October 2020.