Sudan’s ruling National Congress Party has accepted an official apology from Ayman Nour, chairperson of Egypt’s liberal Ghad al-Thawra Party, following remarks he made during a meeting with President Mohamed Morsy that were deemed insulting to Sudan.
Last week, Morsy convened a number of politicians to discuss how to handle Ethiopia’s announcement that it had begun work on the Grand Renaissance Dam, an undertaking Egypt and Sudan fear will reduce their supply water from the Nile River.
“The Sudanese position (on the crisis) is disgusting,” Nour said during the meeting, sparking discontent among viewers and commentators in Egypt.
The entire proceedings of the meeting enraged Egyptians at both the public and political level because it was later discovered that the discussions, which tackled sensitive national security issues, had aired live on state TV without the knowledge of most of its participants. The meeting prompted Ethiopia to summon the Egyptian ambassador in Addis Ababa to clarify certain remarks that called for hostile action toward the dam.
The NCP described the apology, submitted to the Sudanese embassy in Cairo, as “courageous and acceptable.” The party’s media official, Yasser Youssef, said the apology was “brave and an acknowledgement of fault.” He stressed that Sudan’s stance emanates from a conviction that unity between the countries through which the Nile River flows is necessary.
Edited translation from MENA
