KHARTOUM

Sudan has lifted its embargo on Egyptian goods, President Omar al-Bashir said Thursday during a visit to Khartoum by Egyptian counterpart Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi. 

Addressing a joint press conference, al-Bashir confirmed that he had issued a presidential decree officially ending the one-year-old embargo. 

“I have just issued a presidential decree lifting the embargo on Egyptian commodities as part of our efforts to enhance bilateral relations and encourage the movement of goods,” al-Bashir told reporters. 

Sudan’s embargo on Egyptian commodities first came into effect in May of last year. 

Al-Sisi, for his part, said that he and al-Bashir had inked 11 separate cooperation agreements, including one for the construction of shared electricity and rail networks.  

Khashoggi

On Wednesday, Sudan and Egypt issued joint calls for a “diplomatic and legal solution” to the ongoing furor over the Oct. 2 murder in Istanbul of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Following a meeting in Khartoum between the two countries’ foreign ministers, Sudanese Ambassador to Egypt Abdul Mahmoud Abdul Halim said that both sides were concerned that the Khashoggi case could give rise to “conspiracies” against certain Arab and Muslim countries.

“We are calling on all parties to deal with the issue wisely, so as not to give any opportunities to those who seek to conspire against the region,” Abdul Halim told reporters.