Egyptian-Sudanese committee to meet in Khartoum on May 25th

May 19, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The Egyptian-Sudanese Higher Committee (ESHC) would hold meetings in Khartoum between 25 to 26 May with the participation of seven under-secretaries of ministries from both nations.

Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir (L) shakes hands with his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, during a news conference after their meeting in Cairo on 19 October 2014 (Photo: Reuters)

According to Al-Sudani newspaper on Wednesday, several experts would also take part in the meetings to discuss works of the 29 specialized joint sub-committees.

The Sudanese side will be headed by the foreign ministry under-secretary Abdel-Ghani al-Naim while the Egyptian side will be chaired by the assistant foreign minister for neighbouring countries, Osama al-Majdoub.

Meetings of the three levels of the ESHC usually begin by the meeting of the under-secretaries and experts followed by the meeting of the foreign ministers and conclude with a presidential meeting between the two heads of states.

Khartoum would host the meeting of the experts and undersecretaries between 25 to 26 May while the ministerial and presidential meetings will be held in Cairo at a later date.

Relations between Sudan and Egypt have been frosty over the past few years, but they’ve recently begun to thaw thanks to a series of conciliatory diplomatic gestures.
In October 2014, presidents of the two countries upgraded representation in a joint committee aimed at strengthening bilateral ties.

In a related context, Sudan’s minister of Transportation, Roads and Bridges Mekkawi Mohamed Awad said his Egyptian counterpart Jalal Saeed would visit Khartoum late this month to discuss issues pertaining to the Ashkit border crossing between the two countries.

He told reporters following his meeting with the Sudanese Vice-President Hassabo Abdel-Rahman that they discussed problems in the areas of highways, border crossings, sea ports and continental roads.

NCP AND HALAYEB

Meanwhile, Sudanese presidential assistant and deputy chairman of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) has instructed his party’s legal secretariat to prepare a detailed study on the disputed Halayeb region.

He demanded that the study includes a proposal for solving the issue so as to assist the party and the government to deal with the problem.

The Halayeb triangle overlooks the Red Sea and has been a contentious issue between Egypt and Sudan since 1958, shortly after Sudan gained independence from British-Egyptian rule.

The area has been under Cairo’s full military control since the mid-1990’s following a Sudanese backed attempt on former Egyptian president Mohamed Hosni Mubarak’s life.

Egypt brushed aside Sudan’s repeated calls for engaging in direct negotiations to resolve case or referring the dispute to international arbitration.