CAIRO, Egypt — Relations between Cairo and Khartoum are headed down a dark road following the ouster of Egypt’s Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, who had the backing of his Sudanese counterpart, Omar al-Bashir. This comes at a time when the Egyptian regime is striving to safeguard its security, commercial and water rights interests in Sudan.

An Egyptian Foreign Ministry source with knowledge about the Sudanese dossier explained to Al-Monitor the challenges in the relationship. “We are facing a crisis in trying to convince the Sudanese side of the sincerity of our stance, following Morsi’s overthrow. We are keen on bolstering relations with the Sudanese government because doing so safeguards the water, food, and national security of Egypt,” he said.

The source, who requested anonymity, said, “The Egyptian Ministry of Defense had put forth a plan to secure the Egyptian-Sudanese border, through the establishment of a joint border force between the two countries. In fact, some Egyptian security officials were dispatched to negotiate the details of the plan, but the Sudanese have yet to approve it.”

Bashir’s visit to Cairo in July was canceled, without any explanation given by the Egyptian presidency, despite preparations. But Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmi headed to Khartoum on Aug. 18 on his first trip abroad, following the formation of the new Egyptian government. During his visit, Fahmi stressed Cairo’s keenness to safeguard its national security, but he did not invite Bashir to visit Egypt.