Egypt’s foreign minister heads to Sudan talks amid tensions

CAIRO – Egypt’s foreign minister is travelling to Sudan amid tensions between the neighbouring countries, which hope to boost co-operation despite recent disputes over borderlands and trade.

Sameh Shoukry arrives in Khartoum Wednesday to meet his Sudanese counterpart, Ibrahim Ghandour as part of a joint “political consultations committee” on Thursday. The group met twice earlier — in April in Khartoum and in Cairo in June — and aims to “develop bilateral co-operation in all fields.”

The meeting, announced by the foreign ministries of both states, comes as Khartoum has been renewing its claim to the Egyptian-held border territory known as the Halayeb Triangle, a dispute that dates back to British colonial times. Sudan has also banned Egyptian agricultural and animal imports, citing health concerns, a move that Cairo wants repealed.