Sudanese Officials Visit Qatar for First Time After al-Bashir Ouster

January 30, 2021 

(KHARTOUM) - The Vice Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council in Sudan, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo "Hemetti" held frank talks with Qatari officials on Saturday.

Hemetti arrived in Doha, accompanied by Foreign Minister Omer Gamar Eldin and Director of the General Intelligence Service, Jamal Abdel Majeed, on an official visit.

The visit is the first of its kind after the ouster of the former President Omer al-Bashir in April 2019.

Following their arrival, the delegation met with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to discuss bilateral relations and issues of common interests.

The meeting with Al Thani "was frank and direct. We discussed the relations between our two countries and ways to develop it in all fields for the benefit of our peoples and the peoples of the region," said Hemetti in a statement released on his page on Facebook after the meeting.

Relations between Qatar and Sudan became tense after the refusal of the pro- Emirati military council to receive a Qatari delegation despite its arrival in Sudanese airspace after the collapse of the al-Bashir regime.

The accident at the time resulted in the dismissal of the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from his post. The Sudanese generals at the time said the Sudanese diplomat did not inform them of the visit.

Also at the time, Hemetti publically apologized about the incident saying they were wrong.

In statements to the media after the meeting, Gamar Eldin stated that the meeting touched on the common issues and topics between the two countries, as well as the situation in Sudan after the December revolution.

He further said that they briefed the Qatari minister about the recent developments on the border with Ethiopia, and the issue of stalled discussions on the renaissance dam.

(ST)