Israeli President Isaac Herzog phoned Wednesday Chairman of Sudan's Sovereignty Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Deputy Chairman of the Sovereign Council Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, during which they discussed bilateral ties and obstacles hindering their progress.
Sources close to the Israeli president said that the talks were positive, noting that part of the discussions was in Arabic which Herzog is still learning.
The Sudanese officials expressed their wish to enhance bilateral ties with Israel after they stumbled in the past months.
Officials in Sudan congratulated Herzog for becoming a president, the sources said.
Israel and Sudan normalized ties in October of 2020 upon Trump’s initiative to arrange for a phone call between Burhan and then Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
An agreement was supposed to be signed at the White House in the presence of high-rank officials. However, the loss of Trump in the elections and the opposition in Sudan hindered the process.
Relations between the two sides deteriorated two months ago when former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen held direct talks with Hemedti. Burhan expressed his objection and rage over these attempts to disregard him.
However, new Mossad chief David Barnea was quick to resolve this dispute with Burhan.