Cairo and Khartoum made a new step in boosting ‘strategic partnership’ on Wednesday by holding a meeting for the Egyptian-Sudanese ministerial council in Cairo under the chairmanship of Sudanese Foreign Minister Al-Dirdiri Mohamed and his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry. Officials from both countries discussed more than 20 agreements, memorandums of understanding and executive programs that are set to be signed in October during the joint supreme committee meeting in the presence of Egyptian President Abdul Fattah el-Sisi and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. The discussed agreements covered various fields, including commerce, oil, gas, agriculture, health, education, judicial and legal cooperation and tourism. The Sudanese foreign minister said another round of political consultations will be held with his Egyptian counterpart, adding the current discussions focused on combating terrorism and controlling the border. Shoukry said during a press conference that the security and intelligence cooperation between Cairo and Khartoum is at its highest levels. Also, for his part, he stressed the depth of his country’s historic relations with neighboring Egypt and called for enhanced ties with a view to “activating our strategic partnership and eliminating obstacles to further cooperation”. Shoukry underpinned the importance of maintaining regular coordination meetings between the ministers of foreign affairs of Egypt and Sudan. He also tackled the negotiations concerning the Renaissance Dam, calling for a quicker solution to the issue.