Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry arrives in Khartoum for talks amid tense relations: Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry arrived in Khartoum yesterday for meetings with his Sudanese counterpart Ibrahim Ghandour despite the flaring tensions between both countries over border and trade-related issues, according to the Associated Press. The officials are expected to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral ties, even though Cairo and Khartoum’s souring relations took a turn for the worst recently after the Sudanese government imposed a ban on some Egyptian agricultural imports and began to renew its claim over the border territory of Halayeb and Shalateen. Egypt did not help the situation when security forces arrested and began deportation proceedings for 100 undocumented Sudanese nationals they claim had been illegally living and working in Shalateen. The Egyptian government is also planning a number of development projects in the disputed border city, including an EGP 1.1 bn housing project that Arab Contractors will be executing, Red Sea Governor Ahmed Abdallah said on Wednesday, according to Al Shorouk. Details from the meetings had not yet been released at press time, but we’ll be watching out for any new developments.

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