Egypt’s intelligence chief Umar Suleiman and Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu Al-Gheit are visiting Sudan this week

February 09, 2009 report from The Media Line: - excerpt:

Egypt Top Brass Head for Sudan

Egypt’s intelligence chief ‘Umar Suleiman and Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu Al-Gheit are visiting Sudan this week, the Egyptian government announced. [...]

Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Husam Zaki said the two senior officials would be traveling to the neighboring Sudan to discuss developments in the Arab world, and specifically in Sudan.

Relations between Sudan and Egypt were recently strained after the Sudanese president attended a meeting in Qatar, which was boycotted by Egypt.

The meeting, which discussed the Palestinian plight during Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip, was viewed by Egypt as a gathering of the more extremist voices, including Syria and Iran. Cairo was concerned it was undermining its efforts to mediate a cease-fire.

The meeting pitted Arab powers against each other, with Syria, Iran, Qatar and Hamas on the one side and Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian Authority on the other.

Egypt is opposed to an ICC indictment against Al-Bashir, expressing concern that this could fuel more violence in the region. [...]