Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Egypt, Sudan to raise representation in joint body

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Saturday had agreed to raise to the level of head of state representation in a joint Egyptian-Sudanese committee, a Sudanese diplomat said.
Sudan's ambassador in Cairo Abdel-Mahmoud Abdel-Halim said al-Sisi held a closed-door meeting – that was attended by some ministers from Egypt and Sudan – with al-Bashir who started an official visit to Cairo earlier in the day, his first since al-Sisi took over in June.
The ambassador added that during the one-hour meeting, the two presidents agreed to raise to the level of head of state representation in the Higher Egyptian-Sudanese Joint Committee, a body tasked with the job of cementing cooperation between the two Nile Basin Arab states.
Egypt used to be represented in the committee in the past by its prime minister, while Sudan used to be represented by its vice-president.
Abdel-Halim said Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri would pay a visit to the Sudanese capital Khartoum within days to prepare with his Sudanese counterpart, Ali al-Karti, for the next meetings of the committee, slated for later this year.
Al-Sisi and al-Bashir discussed the outcome of negotiations between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia on a multibillion dollar dam being built by the later country over the Nile, the Sudanese ambassador said.
He said the two presidents expressed their satisfaction with the outcome of these negotiations, describing them as "positive."
Abdel-Halim said al-Sisi and al-Bashir also discussed developments in neighboring Libya, expressing hopes that Libya's neighboring countries would play a role in bringing stability back to the restive country.
They also called for launching dialogue among different political forces in Libya, Abdel-Halim said of the Egyptian and Sudanese presidents.
Al-Bashir arrived in Cairo earlier on Saturday in the company of five of his government ministers.
He is expected to spend two days in the Egyptian capital.

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