President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir met in Cairo yesterday, where they discussed boosting bilateral relations, including electricity connection and railway projects, according to an Ittihadiya statement. The talks also addressed latest developments on the negotiations over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, Ahram Gate reported.

Bashir downplayed protests back home, sayingthey were being exaggerated by the media, according to Reuters. “This is an attempt to copy the Arab Spring in Sudan, these are the same slogans and appeals and the very wide use of social media sites,” the Sudanese leader said. He had previously thanked Egypt for supporting stability in Khartoum, marking a shift in strained relations between the two neighbors in the few months leading to the protests.