Roundup: Ugandan president to start rare visit to Sudan

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is to begin on Tuesday a rare visit to Sudan after 12 years from his last visit to Khartoum.

Museveni is expected to hold closed-door talks with his Sudanese counterpart Omar al-Bashir related to bilateral ties, the security files between the two countries and the situation in South Sudan.

A meeting was held at the Sudanese Presidential Palace, chaired by Sudan's Vice President Hassabo Mohamed Abdul-Rahman, where it discussed the ongoing preparations for the visit of the Ugandan president.

The meeting regarded Museveni's visit as an important step towards enhancing the relations between the two countries.

Diplomatic sources in Khartoum said Museveni and al-Bashir would sign a joint communique to put the two countries' ties on their normal course.

Local media reported on Tuesday that Ibrahim Mahmoud, Sudan's presidential assistant, have expressed confidence that the visit of the Ugandan president to Sudan would achieve a great breakthrough, both internally and in Africa.

"This is one of the most important visits. Sudan is seeking to develop its ties with all African countries, especially Uganda, because it hosts a group of armed movements," Mahmoud said, adding that he hoped the joint talks would be culminated by normalization of bilateral relations.

Sudan's state minister for foreign affairs Kamal Ismail, for his part, told reporters that all arrangements have been completed to make Museveni's visit successful, noting that the expected joint communique, to be signed by the two presidents, would open the door for a better future of the bilateral ties.

Meanwhile, Sudan's foreign ministry spokesman Ali Al-Saddiq told reporters that Presidents al-Bashir and Museveni would on Wednesday hold official session with the participation of ministers from the two countries and sign two agreements on higher and youth education.

Since the eruption of war in South Sudan in 1983 between the Sudanese government and the South Sudan rebels, the Sudanese-Ugandan relations have witnessed continued tension.

Khartoum accused Uganda of supporting the rebels who fought the central government in Khartoum until 2005 when the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed between Sudan and South Sudan.

After the signing of the CPA, which paved the way for the separation of South Sudan with the north in 2011, the ties between Khartoum and Kampala remained tensed as Sudan continued accusing Uganda of seeking to control the new-born South Sudan.

As the civil war erupted in South Sudan between the government of President Salva Kiir Mayardit and defectors loyal to his former vice-president Riek Machar in December 2013, differences have deepened between Sudan and Uganda.

Uganda opted to support President Kiir and sent troops to fight alongside the South Sudanese army against the rebels, a move which prompted Khartoum's fears over presence of Ugandan forces near Sudan's joint border with the south. Endit