Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry’s will be heading to Khartoum next week for the joint political consultation meeting that was originally slated for earlier this week, Al Masry Al Youm reports. The planned meeting comes amid political tensions between the two countries over the Halayeb and Shalateen region. Shoukry reaffirmed that Egypt and Sudan’s bilateral ties have deep historical roots and are based on mutual respect. Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour echoed Shoukry’s statement, likening the two countries to a set of twins who “cannot be separated” as a result of temporary tensions, according to the Kuwait News Agency.

Shoukry announced that Ethiopian Foreign Minister Workneh Gebeyehu will visit Cairo soon, Al Mal reports. This came at a meeting with the House’s Arab Affairs Committee. Shoukry provides no further details, but we can imagine it has something to do with a minor little construction project on the Nile.