Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir arrived in Cairo on Saturday for a two-day visit to Egypt.
Al-Bashir was welcomed at Cairo International Airport by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, airport sources said.
The two leaders are expected to hold talks on a host of issues of mutual concern, including the Nile water, according to sources.
Al-Bashir’s visit is his first since the election of al-Sisi, the former military general who led the army to oust elected Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July of last year.
Sudanese Irrigation Minister Moataz Moussa told Anadolu Agency on Friday that al-Bashir’s visit to Egypt will mark the revival of bilateral agreements between the two neighbors,
“Establishing a joint free trade zone as well as the 2004 Four Freedoms agreements will be discussed during [al-Bashir’s] visit,” Moussa said.
The Four Freedoms agreements aim to grant Egyptian citizens the freedom of movement in Sudan without entry visas as well as the right to work, live and own land in the country – and vice versa.
Relations between Sudan and Egypt came under strain following Morsi’s overthrow by the military amid accusations by some pro-army forces in Egypt for Sudan of supporting Morsi and his embattled Muslim Brotherhood group.
Ties deteriorated further due to Khartoum’s support for a hydroelectric dam currently being built by Ethiopia on the Nile River’s upper reaches, which Egypt fears could threaten its historical share of Nile water.
