Sudan lifts ban on Egyptian imports amid effort to mend ties

CAIRO – Sudan has lifted a ban on agricultural imports from Egypt, the latest sign of mending relations between Cairo and Khartoum.

The announcement by President Omar al-Bashir came during a joint press conference Thursday with Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi who was on a visit to Khartoum.

Al-Bashir said: “Our main mission is to remove obstacles in the movement of goods and citizens between both countries.”

El-Sissi and al-Bashir have sought to iron out their differences over the past few months.

Egypt-Sudan ties became frayed by a dispute over an Egyptian-held border territory and failures of multiple rounds of talks over Ethiopia’s massive dam under construction on the Blue Nile, which Cairo claims threatens its water supply.

Sudan’s Cabinet had approved the ban on Egyptian agricultural and animal imports in May 2017.