Sudan’s Al Bashir receives Egypt’s President Al Sisi, Ministers in Khartoum

The Egyptian President, Abdelfattah Al Sisi, with a delegation of several members of his Cabinet, arrived in Khartoum on Thursday on a two-day official visit to Sudan.

Al Sisi and his entourage were greeted on the tarmac of Khartoum airport by Sudan’s President Omar Al Bashir and a number of ministers and senior government officials, as well as members of diplomatic missions accredited to Khartoum.

The official Sudan News Agency (SUNA) reports that Egyptian Head of State, who is accompanied by the Egyptian Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Water Resources Irrigation, Agriculture and Defence will hold talks with Al Bashir to explore means for strengthening bilateral relations, political and trade issues, questions of mutual concern and the current developments in the region.

‘Sister countries’

In an interview with SUNA ahead of Al Sisi’s arrival, Egypt’s Ambassador to Sudan, Usama Shaltut said that “President Al Sisi selected Sudan as the first country that he visits in his new presidential term to affirm his keenness to consolidate further the relations between the two sister countries.

He said that the two presidents will discuss a number of issues, including the political and trade relations and the threats at the regional and international arenas.

Ambassador Shaltut indicated that Presidents Al Bashir and Al Sisi will review ways of cementing the bilateral relations after upgrading the joint Sudanese-Egyptian higher committee to the presidential level, adding that this joint committee will meet next October in Khartoum.

He referred to the visits paid recently by Al Bashir to Egypt toward bolstering the relations and cooperation between the two countries.

The Egyptian ambassador pointed out that the talks between Presidents AL-Bashir and Al Sisi will tackle issues of the Sudanese and Egyptian communities, security at the Red Sea, water security, and South Sudan, Libya, Arab and Syria issues as well as the Palestinian question.

(Sources: RD/SUNA)