The foreign ministers of Egypt and Sudan, as well as the heads of both countries' intelligence agencies, will meet in Cairo on Thursday to discuss bilateral coordination over a number of regional issues of mutual interest, a statement by the Egyptian foreign ministry announced on Sunday. Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said Thursday's upcoming meeting follows plans by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir to form a quadrilateral strategic cooperation mechanism between their countries' foreign ministers and intelligence chiefs. According to Abu Zeid, the newly formed committee aims to "remove any flaws that could hamper this brotherly relationship, solidarity, and unified destiny in face of bilateral challenges." The anticipated meeting will come nearly a week after El-Sisi met with Al-Bashir in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa on the sidelines of African Union summit. Also last week in Addis Ababa, Egypt's FM Shoukry met with his Sudanese counterpart Ibrahim El-Ghandour to clear up any "misunderstandings" that had resulted in tensions in recent months. Sudan recently recalled its ambassador to Egypt for consultations without citing an official reason or revealing when he might return. Relations between the two countries have been strained in recent months due to Sudan's claims of sovereignty over Egypt's southern Halayeb Triangle region, as well as the Sudanese stance in the talks on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. In January, the Egyptian president stressed that Egypt does not interfere in other countries' affairs, and has no intention of fighting its "brothers" in Sudan.
