ISTANBUL 

The North African nation of Sudan has officially recognized Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, the Balkan nation’s president, said Saturday.

"Sudan has recognized the Republic of Kosovo, and the two countries have agreed to establish diplomatic relations," Osmani said in a social media video after meeting with Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Yousif on the sidelines of Türkiye’s Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF).

Expressing her gratitude for Sudan’s move, Osmani said: "We extend our deepest thanks to (Turkish) President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan for making this impactful day happen for all of us, for our nations, at ADF."

Yousif underlined that Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of Sudan's Sovereignty Council, instructed him to proceed with the recognition following his meeting with Erdogan during the forum, held in the Turkish resort city of Antalya.

Yousif added that he hopes this recognition will mark just the beginning of a new era of cooperation between the two countries.

Kosovo unilaterally declared its independence from Serbia in 2008.

Led by Türkiye, to date over 100 countries have recognized Kosovo’s independence. Before Sudan, the most recent recognition came from Kenya on March 26.