Riyadh: Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir will make his first official visit to Saudi Arabia following the creation of the new South Sudan state last Friday.
He will hold wide ranging talks with King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz and other Saudi leaders.
Al Bashir will brief the King Abdullah on the latest developments in Sudan following the separation of South Sudan, and Khartoum's position as regards the new government.
Their talks will also figure other major domestic issues as well as issues of mutual concern at regional and global levels.
The official Saudi Press Agency said that the two leaders would discuss ways to further bolster bilateral relations and cooperation in various fields.
Speaking to Gulf News, Abdul Hafez Ebrahim Mohammad, Sudan's Ambassador to the Kingdom, highlighted the significance of Al Bashir's visit.
Continuous interaction
"The visit comes in the framework of the continuous interaction between leaders of the two sisterly Arab states on all mutual issues of mutual concern," Mohammad said.
"Even though Saudi Arabia welcomed creation of the new South Sudan Republic, it has so far not recognised it," he said.
Mohammad underscored the vital role being played by Saudi Arabia in supporting Sudan on all fronts, and their mutual consultation and coordination with regard to all major Arab and Muslim issues.
He also lauded the efforts being made by the Kingdom to enhance Sudan's security and solve its problems, especially Darfur.
"The summit talks between Al Bashir and King Abdullah would also focus on the issue of achieving food security in Arab countries in line with an initiative made by the king in this respect," he said.
Meanwhile, Al Bashir attended the signing ceremony of the peace agreement between the Sudanese government and Sudan's Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) in Doha on Thursday evening.
A number of heads of state and leaders, including Shaikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar; Idriss Deby, Chad's President; Isaias Afewerki, Eritrean President; and Faustin-Archange Touadera, Central African Republic premier, also attended the ceremony.
High ranking officials of the United Nations, African Union, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Arab League were also present. The accord aims to bring peace to the troubled region of Darfur.
Mass grave discovered
A US satellite monitoring group says a dug-up site in a sealed-off region of Sudan is consistent with a mass grave.
The Satellite Sentinel Project said Wednesday it had photographic evidence and witness testimony indicating systematic killings and mass burials are taking place in Southern Kordofan state.
That's where Sudan's Arab military has been targeting a black ethnic minority. Fighting broke out on June 5. The UN, aid groups and journalists have no access to the site. The group said it found excavated areas in Kadugli and an eyewitness said he saw 100 bodies being put into the pits.
— With inputs from AP
