First visit by speaker of Egyptian parliament to Sudan

The Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir will receive the speaker of the Egyptian parliament Ahmad Fatehi Srour in the first official visit for a Speaker of the Egyptian parliament to Khartoum. The meeting is on the sideline of the meetings of the Arab- inter Parliamentary Union which starts its deliberations today in Khartoum.

Well-informed sources said it is expected the Srour will hand over President al-Bashir a message from the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak during this visit which will last for three days.

According to the sources, the Egyptian message, reflects the development of events in the region and the results of the Egyptian contacts held with all sides concerned in order to smooth the tension taking place in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The message also deals with Egyptian- Sudanese relations and means of developing them as well as the position towards the joint Egyptian- Libyan initiative in order to achieve national reconciliation in Sudan.

In statements late Friday on the role of the Arab Parliamentary Union (APU) in solving Kuwaiti-Iraqi issues, Sorour said that seven years ago, the APU exerted efforts to bring in reconciliation but no compromise was reached.

Asked about terrorism, Sorour said Egypt's view is that a line should be drawn between terrorism, which is rejected by Islam and all Arabs, and the right to resistance.

Observers expect that Srour also to hold several meetings with high ranking Sudanese officials, foremost being the speaker of the Sudanese parliament in order to discuss the role of the Egyptian and Sudanese parliamentarians to expand and strengthen relations at various levels after the end of years of differences that prevailed during 1990s.