Head of Egypt's Intelligence Pays Brief Visit to Khartoum

 Head of the transitional sovereign council, Lieutenant General Abdul-Fattah Al-Burhan met Tuesday head of the Egyptian intelligence, Major General Abbas Kamel in Khartoum (SUNA)
Head of the transitional sovereign council, Lieutenant General Abdul-Fattah Al-Burhan met Tuesday head of the Egyptian intelligence, Major General Abbas Kamel in Khartoum (SUNA)
TT

Head of Egypt's Intelligence Pays Brief Visit to Khartoum

 Head of the transitional sovereign council, Lieutenant General Abdul-Fattah Al-Burhan met Tuesday head of the Egyptian intelligence, Major General Abbas Kamel in Khartoum (SUNA)
Head of the transitional sovereign council, Lieutenant General Abdul-Fattah Al-Burhan met Tuesday head of the Egyptian intelligence, Major General Abbas Kamel in Khartoum (SUNA)

The Head of the General Intelligence Service, Major General Abbas Kamel, landed Tuesday in Khartoum on a brief one-day visit to discuss with Sudanese officials the latest developments of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

Kamel transferred a verbal message from Egyptian President Abdul-Fattah al-Sisi to the Head of the Transitional Sovereign Council, Lieutenant General Abdul-Fattah al-Burhan on bilateral relations and ways to support and develop them and the enhancement of the common interests betwen the two countries.

Kamel also held talks with the First Deputy Chairman of the Transitional Sovereign Council, Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, on the developments concerning the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and efforts made to overcome differences through dialogue.

For his part, Burhan expressed his thanks and appreciation to the Egyptian intelligence chief for the visit and conveyed his greetings to the Egyptian leadership.

Sudanese Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Yasser Abbas conveyed his country’s reservation over the Ethiopian unilateral move of filling the dam before reaching a binding agreement between the three countries, considering the move as a harmful and disturbing precedent in the path of cooperation between the concerned parties.

During talks held Monday on filling and operating the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam at the invitation of South Africa, the current Chairman of the African Union, Khartoum had asked for postponing the negotiations for another week to make consultations.

On Tuesday, Hamdok chaired the first meeting of the High Committee for the Follow up of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

The meeting went over Ethiopia's unilateral move of filling the dam, as well as its impact on Sudan and the track of negotiations in the future.



Syria’s New Authorities: Syrian People Stand at Equal Distance from All Countries

This handout image made available by the Telegram channel of the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) early on December 17, 2024 shows Ahmed al-Sharaa, receiving the director of the Middle East and North Africa department at Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office in Damascus. (Photo by SANA / AFP)
This handout image made available by the Telegram channel of the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) early on December 17, 2024 shows Ahmed al-Sharaa, receiving the director of the Middle East and North Africa department at Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office in Damascus. (Photo by SANA / AFP)
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Syria’s New Authorities: Syrian People Stand at Equal Distance from All Countries

This handout image made available by the Telegram channel of the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) early on December 17, 2024 shows Ahmed al-Sharaa, receiving the director of the Middle East and North Africa department at Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office in Damascus. (Photo by SANA / AFP)
This handout image made available by the Telegram channel of the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) early on December 17, 2024 shows Ahmed al-Sharaa, receiving the director of the Middle East and North Africa department at Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office in Damascus. (Photo by SANA / AFP)

Syria wants to contribute to "regional peace,” the country's new authorities said in a statement after a meeting between leader Ahmed al-Sharaa and a US diplomatic delegation.

"The Syrian side indicated that the Syrian people stand at an equal distance from all countries and parties in the region and that Syria rejects any polarization," the statement said.

In their first in-person meeting with the leaders of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham since it overthrew Syria's long-time President Bashar al-Assad two weeks ago, al-Sharaa "came across as pragmatic,” Barbara Leaf, top Middle East diplomat at the State Department, told reporters.

"It was a good first meeting. We will judge by the deeds, not just by words," Leaf, who was the head of the US delegation, said in a briefing and added that the US officials reiterated that Syria's new government should be inclusive. It should also ensure that terrorist groups cannot pose a threat, she said.