Egypt's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry and his Sudanese counterpart agreed Thursday on measures to regulate the issuance of entry visas and "deepening principles of strategic cooperation between the two countries", following an emergency meeting of the Egyptian-Sudanese consular committee in Cairo. In a joint statement following the meeting, the two ministers agreed to issue a free six-month visa for holders of regular passports, which can be renewable for a similar period, according the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' statement. Females older than 50 and below 16 are exempted from having to obtain an entry visa to any of the two countries, the statement read. The agreement included Egyptians and Sudanese residing in the Arab Gulf states, United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe. "Sudanese living in Egypt prior to 1995 will be treated as Egyptian citizens," according to the agreement. Also considering fees, Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided to exempt Sudanese from registration procedures as well as visa and residency fees, while the Sudanese government decided to apply the same to Egyptian citizens, according to the joint statement. Furthermore, the two sides discussed ways to ease movement of Egyptian trucks heading to Sudan. Relations between Egypt and Sudan have suffered since July 2013, when former president Mohamed Morsi was ousted from power. In the past couple of years, multiple issues have caused tensions between the two countries, such as differences over the Halayeb and Shalateen triangle.
