Sudans second most powerful leader met with Ethiopias defense minister Saturday on a rare visit to Addis Ababa by an official from Khartoum, that comes amid border tensions, officials said. Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, widely known as Hemeti, who is number two in Sudans ruling council, will be in Ethiopia for two days to meet "several Ethiopian officials", Sudans state news agency SUNA reported. He was met at Addis Ababa airport by Ethiopian Defense Minister Abraham Belay, a statement from Sudans ruling council said, AFP reported. He was also welcomed by senior officials from Ethiopia government and intelligence services, it added. Relations between Khartoum and Addis Ababa deteriorated due to a territorial conflict over the disputed Al-Fashaqa border region, where Ethiopian farmers cultivate fertile land claimed by Sudan. There have been sporadic deadly clashes between the two sides in recent years. Al-Fashaqa also borders Ethiopias troubled Tigray region, and tens of thousands of Ethiopian refugees have crossed into Sudan fleeing fighting. In November, Sudans armed forces said six soldiers were killed in an attack by armed groups and militias linked to the Ethiopian military, a report denied by Addis Ababa, who blamed rebels from Tigray. Sudan, along with Egypt, is also locked in a bitter dispute over Ethiopias mega-dam on the Blue Nile. The two downstream countries, dependent on the river for most of their water, see Ethiopias Renaissance Dam as an existential threat. Both Khartoum and Addis Ababa are mired in crises. Sudan has been rocked by weeks of mass demonstrations since an October 25 military takeover that derailed the countrys fragile transition to civilian rule, with at least 73 anti-coup protesters killed in a bloody crackdown. Ethiopia still seeks to end a conflict that broke out in November 2020 following months of mounting rancor between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmeds government and the former ruling party of the northernmost Tigray region, the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF). The fighting has displaced millions, and, according to UN estimates, driven hundreds of thousands to the brink of starvation.