Sudan, Egypt Sign MoU on Joint Military Cooperation

 The Sudanese and Egyptian officials sign the MoU in Khartoum on Friday. (SUNA)
The Sudanese and Egyptian officials sign the MoU in Khartoum on Friday. (SUNA)
TT

Sudan, Egypt Sign MoU on Joint Military Cooperation

 The Sudanese and Egyptian officials sign the MoU in Khartoum on Friday. (SUNA)
The Sudanese and Egyptian officials sign the MoU in Khartoum on Friday. (SUNA)

Sudan and Egypt signed on Friday a memorandum of understanding on joint military cooperation during talks held in Khartoum between both countries’ army chiefs of staff.

They did not reveal details of the MoU, which was signed a few months after a similar military cooperation agreement was reached.

Sudanese Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Mohammed Osman al-Hussein and his Egyptian counterpart Lt. General Mohamed Farid Hegazy concluded on Thursday military talks and signed the understanding, Sudan’s state news agency (SUNA) reported.

Hussein commended the remarkable development in ties between both armies and thanked the Egyptian armed forces for their support and cooperation with Sudan, SUNA said.

Hegazy, for his part, underscored the depth of bilateral relations, noting that his visit is in line with the army’s follow-up of the latest agreements between the two sides.

He had stopped in Khartoum for a short visit on his way back to Cairo from Congo.

The pace of Sudanese-Egyptian military rapprochement has increased recently.

In March, both armies signed a military cooperation agreement covering training and border security.

In May, land, sea and air forces from both countries held the “Guardians of the Nile” maneuvers in Sudan's Um Siyala region.

They were the third drills following the “Nile Eagles-1” held in November 2020 and the “Nile Eagles 2” in April 2021.

The development of military ties is taking place amid mounting tensions with Ethiopia over the massive dam it is building on the Nile River’s main tributary.

Tensions are also high between Sudan and Ethiopia over the al-Fashaqa, a fertile border region where Ethiopian farmers have long cultivated fertile land claimed by Sudan.

Khartoum and Addis Ababa have been locked in a tense war of words over the region, trading accusations of violence and territorial violations in the area.



France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
TT

France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)

Paris declined to comment on Algeria’s “strong condemnation” of the French government’s decision to recognize Morocco’s claim over the Sahara.

The office of the French Foreign Ministry refused to respond to an AFP request for a comment on the Algeria’s stance.

It did say that further comments could impact the trip Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is set to make to France in late September or early October.

The visit has been postponed on numerous occasions over disagreements between the two countries.

France had explicitly expressed its constant and clear support for the autonomy rule proposal over the Sahara during Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne’s visit to Morocco in February, reported AFP.

The position has helped improve ties between Rabat and Paris.

On Thursday, the Algerian Foreign Ministry expressed “great regret and strong denunciation" about the French government's decision to recognize an autonomy plan for the Western Sahara region "within Moroccan sovereignty”.

Algeria was informed of the decision by France in recent days, an Algerian foreign ministry statement added.

The ministry also said Algeria would draw all the consequences from the decision and hold the French government alone completely responsible.