Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi announced that he had agreed with Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir during their meeting in Cairo on Monday to boost the common interests of both countries "with all respect to the internal circumstances" of Egypt and Sudan. In a press conference held at the Egyptian presidential palace on Monday, El-Sisi said the pair discussed Egyptian-Sudanese bilateral relations and agreed to hold a summit meeting between the two later this year in Khartoum. The Sudanese president arrived Cairo earlier Monday in his first visit to the country since the Sudanese ambassador was recalled from Cairo in February due to heightening tensions between the two nations. Regarding the of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and its effects on both countries, President El-Sisi asserted during the press conference that he agreed with his Sudanese counterpart that they should work together, along with their "Ethiopian brothers," to achieve "partnership for all without harming any party involved." From his side, Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir stated that his talks with the Egyptian president covered a variety of issues of mutual interest, adding that there was political will to solve any problem that may arise between the two countries. Al-Bashir also revealed that the talks with El-Sisi covered ways to boost Egyptian-Sudanese cooperation in electricity and infrastructure development, including projects to develop highway, air and marine transportation. El-Sisi and Al-Bashir last met in January on the sidelines of the African Union Summit in Ethiopia, where the two leaders agreed to form a quadrilateral committee of the foreign ministers and intelligence heads of both nations. The committee, which had its first meeting in Cairo last February, aims to "remove any obstacles that could hamper this brotherly relationship, solidarity and unified destiny in the face of mutual challenges." Last week, Egypt's acting intelligence chief Abbas Kamel visited Sudan where he met with Al-Bashir, Foreign Minister Ibrahim Al-Ghandour, and other Sudanese officials. Kamel expressed Egypt's determination work towards circumstances that would allow a return to normal relations between the two countries. Relations between Egypt and Sudan have strained in recent months over Sudan's claims of sovereignty over Egypt's southern Halayeb Triangle region, Sudan's harbouring of members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and other differences related to the construction of the Ethiopian Renaissance dam. In previous statements, Sudanese FM Ibrahim Al-Ghandour has said the matter of the Halayeb Triangle region would be left to the presidents of Sudan and Egypt to discuss.
