Sources: Abbas’ visit to Sudan nothing to do with Netanyahu’s tour of Africa

Sudanese sources said Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ visit to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, has nothing to do with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent tour of a number of African countries.

Sudan’s Al-Shorooq TV quoted the Sudanese Minister of State for Foreign Ministry Mohammed Obaidullah saying yesterday that there was no connection between Abbas’ visit and Netanyahu’s visit to some African countries, adding that “this will not necessarily be the central topic, but the Sudanese-Palestinian relations are always solid and take into account the Israeli efforts to circumvent the Palestinian cause and harness the support of some neighbouring countries to serve Israel’s purposes.”

“We should have strong and close coordination between the two countries and the two peoples in order to prevent Israel from achieving its objectives especially after Netanyahu’s visit to some East African countries,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Editor-in-Chief of Sudan’s Al-Ahram daily newspaper, Al-Fateh Mohammed Ahmed, said Abbas’ visit to Khartoum is routine and was arranged two months ago and will mainly focus on economic issues and bilateral relations.

The Sudanese and Palestinian sides signed a number of cooperation agreements during Abbas’ three day trip to the African state.