Sudan's ambassador to Cairo will return to the Egyptian capital within days, ending an absence of several weeks since January, Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim El-Ghandour announced on Saturday in Khartoum. In an interview with Sudanese TV channel Ashorooq, El-Ghandour said that Ambassador Abdel Mahmoud Abdel Halim was participating in the Sudanese ambassadors' conference, which is currently being held in Khartoum and will head to Cairo as soon as the conference finishes. The conference starts on Monday and concludes on Wednesday. Sudan recalled its ambassador to Khartoum for consultations in January. Relations between the two countries have been strained in recent months due to Sudan's claims of sovereignty over Egypt's Halayeb Triangle region, as well as the Sudanese stance in the talks on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Relations began to smooth following meetings between Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and his Sudanese counterpart President Omar El-Bashir, as well the four-way meetings between the two countries' ministers of foreign affairs and heads of general intelligence. Concerning the Halayeb Triangle region, El-Ghandour said in the interview that the officials from both countries have decided not to escalate the matter, but rather to maintain the status quo. El-Ghandour added that the resolution of the Halayeb Triangle issue has been left to the Egyptian and Sudanese presidents to decide.
