Israeli civil aircraft began flying to South America through Sudanese airspace two days ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday
TEL AVIV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th February, 2020) Israeli civil aircraft began flying to South America through Sudanese airspace two days ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday.
"The first Israeli airplane passed two days ago over the skies of Sudan on its way to South America. They don't have to go to Spain and then around Africa. They can now fly directly over Sudan right to Brazil, Argentina, and they can stop on the way in another country, Chad, which also resumed relations with us recently," Netanyahu said.
These measures came shortly after Netanyahu's meeting with Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of Sudan's Sovereign Council. According to the prime minister's office, Netanyahu said that Israel had been developing relations with the Arab and Muslim countries.
"I can tell you there's scarcely one, two, three Muslim or Arab countries around the world that we don't have deepened ties with," Netanyahu said, as quoted by his office.
On Sunday, it was announced that Israel had created a work group on normalizing relations with Sudan and establishing diplomatic ties between the two countries. The group's meeting is expected to be held in the coming days.
The first meeting between al-Burhan and Netanyahu, during which the parties agreed to start bilateral cooperation, took place on February 3 during the latter's state visit to Uganda. Al-Burhan, in his turn, said that the meeting had been held as part of efforts to ensure Sudan's national security.
Israel and Sudan do not currently have diplomatic relations.
In late August, Sudan established the Sovereign Council, officially dissolving the previously ruling Transitional Military Council, which came to power after former President Omar Bashir was overthrown. After power was transferred to the Sovereign Council, it appointed Abdalla Hamdok as prime minister and head of the transitional government.
