Sudan has proposed establishing a joint military task force with Egypt to help protect shared border areas, Khartoum’s ambassador Abdel Mahmoud Abdel Halim said on Thursday, Al Masry Al Youm reports. Abdel Halim, who returned to his post last week after a two-month absence following an escalation of tension between the two countries, said that the coming period will see both sides work hard to normalize ties. Relations took a turn for the worst last year over failed negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which saw Sudan side with Addis Ababa, and a dispute over the border territory of Halayeb and Shalatin. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry had met with his Sudanese counterpart Ibrahim Ghandour last week to discuss developments in GERD talks, which are on hold until Ethiopia elects a new prime minister.

Turkey waiting in the wings: This comes as Sudan’s central bank says it signed a USD 2 bn loan agreement with an unnamed Turkish company “to provide banking facilities and to import petroleum products and wheat,” Reuters reports.