CAIRO — Sudan’s assistant president, Maj. Gen. Abdul Rahman al-Sadiq al-Mahdi, expects an increase in the trade exchange volume between Egypt and Sudan. “Sudan is Egypt’s gateway to Africa and Egypt is Sudan’s gateway to Europe,” Mahdi said in an interview Oct. 29 with Egyptian local newspaper Al-Ahram.

On Oct. 25, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir announced in a joint press conference with his Egyptian counterpart, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, lifting the 17-month ban on the entry of Egyptian agricultural and animal products to Sudan. Sisi was attending in Khartoum the second meeting of the Egyptian-Sudanese Summit.

On May 30, 2017, Sudanese Prime Minister Bakri Hassan Saleh imposed a ban on the entry of Egyptian agricultural and animal products into his country. He obliged the private sector to import such goods directly from the country of origin, bypassing Egypt. 

Escalating tension had marred the relations between the two countries over the past two years due to several issues. Sudan had warned of resorting to international arbitration in April 2016 to find a solution for the disputed Halayeb and Shalateen border area.