UPDATE - Head of Sudan’s Sovereign Council en route to Turkey for working visit

UPDATES WITH OFFICIAL EN ROUTE TO TURKEY, CHANGES TITLE, DECK, LEDE, EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Bahram Abdelmonem and Zafer Fatih Beyaz

KHARTOUM, Sudan / ANKARA (AA) -

The head of Sudan's ruling Sovereign Council is en route to Turkey for a Thursday working visit at the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to the council.

Abdel Al-Burhan is accompanied by a delegation that includes Defense Minister Yassin Ibrahim, Foreign Minister Maryam al-Mahdi, Finance Minister Jibril Ibrahim, Agriculture Minister Taher Ismail, and intelligence chief Jamal al-Din Abdul Majid, said a council statement.

It will mark the first visit from Sudan, a country now in a transition period, to Turkey at the presidential level, according to a statement by Turkey's Communications Directorate.

During meetings between the two leaders, ties between Turkey and Sudan, which are shaped on the basis of fraternal ties and strategic partnership, will be reviewed in all aspects.

The two sides will also discuss regional and international developments as well as steps to develop cooperation between the two nations.

Relations between Ankara and Khartoum have been developing since Turkey’s Justice and Development Party came to power in late 2002, when it developed an ambitious plan to strengthen ties with African countries.

Bilateral ties also gained momentum with Erdogan’s December 2017 visit to Sudan, when the two countries signed 22 agreements in a host of fields.

The agreements cover cooperation in the fields of education, agriculture, industry, trade, the iron and steel industry, exploration, energy exploration, gold extraction, the construction of silos, healthcare services, and power generation.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz and Mahmoud Barakat