Sudan, Libya to strengthen ties

Sudan and Libya have agreed to strengthen their cooperation in various fields, work together to secure the joint borders, and activate the agreements signed between the two sides.

In a joint press conference at the Presidential Palace in Khartoum on Sunday, President Omar Al Bashir and the visiting head of the Presidential Council of the National Reconciliation Government of Libya, Fayez El Sarraj, briefed the press about the results of their talks.

Al Bashir said that Sudan will support the efforts of the Libyan Reconciliation Government to achieve stability and security in the country.

He said that the visit of El Sarraj to Sudan constitutes a base for the development of renewed relations between the two countries.

The Sudanese president expressed his concern about the continuing instability in Libya, and its negative impacts on Sudan. "We are affected directly by the insecurity in Libya, which has made it expensive for us to fight human trafficking, illegal immigration, and cross-border crimes,” he said. “Those who are committing these crimes are using the instability in Libya, and using Sudanese territories to commit their crimes.”

Al Bashir pointed as well to the presence of Sudanese rebel combatants in the neighbouring country, and said that the “Sudanese mercenaries in Libya” pose a direct threat to Sudan.

Sudan recognises the Tripoli-based National Reconciliation Government of Libya, which is a rival of the Libyan general Khalifa Haftar who leads the Libyan forces in the eastern part of the country. Khartoum accuses Haftar of enlisting rebels from Darfur to fight alongside his forces.

The head of the Presidential Council of the National Reconciliation Government of Libya, pointed to “the distinguished relations between the two countries. The brotherly relations have not been affected by the events taking place in Libya.

“We held bilateral talks with President Omar Al Bashir, during which we discussed the latest developments, and the political and security challenges facing our country, and ways of resolving them through national reconciliation,” he said.

“Sudan is of strategic importance to Libya,” he said. “We agreed on the importance of securing the border between the two countries and the activation of the joint agreements we signed in the past. In addition we discussed the Sudanese-Libyan integration mechanisms.”

The two leaders did not mention the recent closure of the Sudanese consulate in Kufra and the expulsion of its staff from Libya.