Egypt’s President Abdelfatá al Sisi has traveled to Sudan to meet with Sudanese authorities, in a historic visit, being the first after the overthrow of Sudanese dictator Omar Hasan al Bashir in 2019, to discuss on the Grand Renaissance Dam that Ethiopia has erected on the Blue Nile.
Al Sisi has been received by the head of Sudan’s Sovereign Transitional Council, Abdelfata al Burhan, at the presidential palace in Khartoum for the first time since their meeting last December in Cairo, where Al Sisi pledged political support to Sudan to “shape the future of his country.”
“Al Sisi’s visit is aimed at affirming Egypt’s support for Sudan at this critical juncture,” according to a statement issued Saturday by the Egyptian Presidency and reported by ‘Al Ahram’ daily.
Al Sisi’s visit to Khartoum comes in the context of several high-level meetings between Egypt and Sudan that have been held in recent weeks. Last week, the two countries signed a military cooperation agreement to preserve the national security of both countries.
In November, Egypt and Sudan conducted for the first time the ‘Eagles of the Nile’ air drill which took place at one of the Sudanese air bases and involved the Egyptian ‘Thunderbolt’ special forces.
Today’s visit also comes less than a week after the reception of Mariam Sadek al Mahdi, Sudan’s newly appointed foreign minister, in Cairo. During her visit, al Mahdi and her Egyptian counterpart, Samé Shukri, called for international mediation to facilitate a legally binding agreement with Ethiopia before the second filling of the dam, which Ethiopia plans to carry out this summer.
Both foreign ministers warned that Egypt and Sudan’s water security “will be in jeopardy if Ethiopia proceeds with the second filling of the dam without reaching a legally binding agreement.” But neutral experts downplay the impact of Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
The latest round of negotiations, brokered by South Africa, stalled in January due to Khartoum’s withdrawal from recent meetings in objection to the methodology on which the talks had been conducted.
