Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Head of the Sudanese Transitional Sovereignty Council Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan during the official reception ceremony at the presidential palace in Khartoum on Saturday. — courtesy photo KHARTOUM — Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, who is visiting Sudan for the first time, following the formation of the Sudanese Transitional Sovereignty Council in August 2019 was received by the head of the Sudanese Transitional Sovereignty Council Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan at the presidential palace in Khartoum on Saturday. The visit comes in light of consolidating Egypt"s efforts to support Sudan in this critical stage, and of keenness on joint coordination and unification of visions on various issues of common interest, Presidential spokesman Bassam Radi said. El-Sisi and Al-Burhan last met at a meeting held in Cairo last December when the Egyptian president affirmed Cairo"s support for the political leadership in Sudan in “shaping their country’s future”, welcoming all efforts aiming to aid Sudan in facing its economic crisis, and towards accomplishing regional stability and peace. El-Sisi"s visit is meant to affirm Egypt’s support of Sudan at this critical juncture, a statement by the Egyptian presidency said earlier on Saturday. It is also part of efforts to coordinate visions and stances on various issues of common interest. Scheduled during the visit are an Egyptian-Sudanese summit and meetings with senior Sudanese leaders and officials, the presidential statement noted. The meetings will see discussions over means to cooperate and boost bilateral relations on the military, security, and economic levels, as well as talks about regional and continental developments, such as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), security in the Red Sea, and Sudan’s borders, the presidential statement added. El-Sisi"s current visit to Khartoum comes against the backdrop of various high-level meetings between Egypt and Sudan that have been held in recent weeks. El-Sisi is accompanied by Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Chief of the Egyptian Intelligence Abbas Kamel in his one-day visit. Coincidently, a hashtag welcoming Sisi in Khartoum (#Sisi_in_his_second_home) was trending few hours after the Egyptian Presidency spokesperson announced Sisi’ official visit. Al-Masry account tweeted that “Egypt and Sudan are one home, one heart and one world. Egypt and Sudan have voiced their concern about the possible harms and threats of the controversial Ethiopian Renaissance dam and how the dam will negatively after their water share of the Nile in case Ethiopia abstained from signing a binding and legal agreement on the dam operation and filling its reservoir. — Agencies