Cairo: Sudanese President Hassan Al Bashir Monday started his first visit to Egypt in more than a year amid improved ties between both neighbouring countries.
Early this year, Sudan recalled its ambassador from Egypt “for consultation” following tensions reportedly over a long-standing border dispute.
The envoy returned to Egypt early this month amid signs of rapprochement between Cairo and Khartoum.
President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi Monday welcomed Al Bashir at Cairo airport and accompanied him for talks at the Itihadeya presidential palace in the east of the Egyptian capital.
Al Bashir, who last visited Cairo in October 2016, is staying for one day in Egypt. He is leading a high-level delegation.
“The visit aims at discussing ways of boosting brotherly ties between the two countries in all fields and continuing consultations,” Egyptian presidential spokesman Bassam Radi said.
“Egypt is hoping for activating bilateral relations, especially as there are a lot of common links between the two countries that should be utilised,” he added in a statement without details.
In late January, Al Sissi and Al Bashir met in Ethiopia on the sidelines of an African summit, signaling a thaw in strained ties.
In recent years, tensions occasionally flared up between Egypt and Sudan due to their dispute over the border triangle of Halayeb, a row dating back to the 1950s.
Sudan was also perceived as siding with Ethiopia against Egypt in a dispute over Addis Ababa’s construction of a grand dam on the River Nile. Egypt fears that Ethiopia’s Renaissance Dam will negatively affect its share from the Nile, which is Egyptians’ main source of water.
Egyptian media also accused Sudan of nurturing close ties with Qatar and Turkey, which are staunch backers of the Muslim Brotherhood designated as a terrorist organization in Egypt.
