The Sudanese government has reportedly agreed to allow flights heading to Israel to cross its airspace, a military spokesman said on Wednesday, reported Reuters.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Sudanese military spokesman Amer Mohamed al-Hassan said that there had been an agreement “in principle” for use of Sudan’s airspace by commercial aircraft traveling from South America to Israel.
However, he said the military is still studying the technical aspects of the overflights and said that Sudan had not yet agreed to overflights by Israeli carrier El Al.
“Sudan has not announced full normalization (with Israel), but it is exchanging interests,” he said.
The development follows a surprise meeting between Sudan’s military head of state and Israel’s prime minister.
The chairman of Sudan’s ruling sovereign council, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, had a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Entebbe on Monday.
The meeting stirred controversy in Khartoum after Israeli officials said it would lead to normalizing relations between the two former foes.
Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was not very happy about the surprise meeting, but the Sudanese military backed the surprise meeting saying the contact would help boost national security.
In a political statement released on Wednesday, the military described Burhan’s trip to meet Netanyahu as being in “the highest interests of national security and of Sudan.”
On Tuesday, Burhan told the sovereign council and key ministers that he met Netanyahu to protect the national security of Sudan.
The military’s support for Burhan was announced after top officers met at army headquarters in Khartoum.
“There was a meeting at the army headquarters today, and those present… were briefed about the visit … and its impact on Sudan’s national security,” military spokesman Brigadier Amir Mohamed Al-Hassan told AFP. “The army is in favor of this meeting as it is in the interest of Sudan’s national security.”
