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By heads of states of Egypt and Sudan exchanging visits to the capital cities of Cairo and Khartoum, the two neighbors attempt to put their stagnant relations into motion and gradually end a period of "silent tension" between the two countries, said Egyptian political experts.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir wrapped up on Sunday a two- day visit to Cairo where he held talks with his counterpart Abdel- Fattah al-Sisi on various issues of mutual concern, including border security coordination and the shared River Nile water issue.
Bashir and Sisi agreed to elevate the level of the Egyptian- Sudanese "ministerial" cooperation committee into a "presidential" one. "We agreed to start with the issues of agreement to contribute to overcoming all obstacles facing the relations," Bashir said Sunday following his meeting with Sisi. SUDAN'S SUPPORT FOR BROTHERHOOD
"Bashir's visit to Egypt is important to end a period of silent tension between Cairo and Khartoum due to Sudan's assistance of some Muslim Brotherhood leaders and allowing them to pass through Sudan to Qatar and Turkey," said Atiyya Esawy, expert of African affairs at state-run Al-Ahram press institution.
Ex-military chief and now President Sisi led the overthrow of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013, a move that was rejected by Sudan's Islamist-oriented regime.
Tension between Sudan and Egypt grew when the Sudanese authorities allowed anti-Sisi, pro-Brotherhood protests in Khartoum during the Egyptian president's visit last June. "Some figures from the Sudanese ruling party joined the protest as well, " Esawy told Xinhua.
The gap between Cairo and Khartoum has become more ideological than political, as Egypt is now tend to secularism while Sudan is Islamist-oriented, which explains the division between the two countries on the situation in Libya. DIFFERENCES ON LIBYA
"Egypt supports the newly-elected parliament and the new government in Libya, which are both internationally recognized, while Sudan aids the Islamist militants in Libya which hinders reaching a quick solution for the Libyan issue," Esawy explained.
He added that if Egypt, which is close to the Libyan government, and Sudan, with its influence on Islamists in Libya, cooperate together they could reach a settlement for the Libyan crisis.
For his part, Hani Raslan, head of Sudan and Nile Basin studies department at Cairo-based Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, said that Bashir's visit reflects the desire of both countries to overcome the tense relations that followed Morsi 's removal.
Sisi said Sunday in a joint statement with Bashir that both countries "agreed to the necessity of supporting the legitimate institutions in Libya and coordinating positions and efforts to achieve stability in Libya."
Raslan told Xinhua that this is "a clear and significant result of Bashir's visit and his talks with Sisi," stressing that Sudan's support for Islamists in Libya is among the issues disturbing relations between Cairo and Khartoum. DISPUTED BORDER REGION
The disputed border region of Halayeb and Shalateen represents a hot issue in the history of the Egyptian-Sudanese relations. Expert believe it is "a very complicated issue" and a "thorn" in the back of both heads of state.
Bashir said a few days before his visit to Cairo that "Halayeb is Sudanese" but he reaffirmed that he would not get into conflict with Egypt over the issue.
Although Egypt was under British occupation, Sudan was under British-Egyptian joint rule from 1899 to 1924. Bashir's claim of Halayeb is based on an Egyptian administrative decree issued in 1902 to enable facilitating services for the people of Halayeb and Shalateen border region.
"The decree confirmed in its second article that Halayeb is Egyptian and in its eighth article that mayors there were to be appointed by the Egyptian interior Ministry," Esawy argued. ETHIOPIA DAM
Ethiopia started last year to establish its Renaissance Dam on the River Nile, a step that infuriated Egypt that claims the dam would affect its annual share of 55.5 billion cubic meters of Nile Water.
Egypt's downstream partner Sudan did not seem disturbed by the intended Ethiopian dam and did not show support for Cairo's position on the issue.
"Sudan's position on the Ethiopian dam has been unclear but it now tends to be more moderate in the light of the ongoing tripartite consolatory committee comprising Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia," Bakry told Xinhua.
Bakry said that Bashir's visit is timely to rescue the relations between Egypt and Sudan that are going through "death throes."
An Egyptian presidential spokesman said Sunday that Egypt's investments in Sudan have reached two billion Egyptian pounds (280 million U.S. dollars) and there are plans to increase them to 11 billion Egyptian pounds (15.4 billion dollars).
Despite the differences, experts believe that Egypt needs Sudan that represents its southern security strategic depth besides the importance of Sudanese agriculture and animal resources to Egypt, while Sudan needs Egyptian support at a time of internal disputes in the country besides its conflict with South Sudan. Enditem
