Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah Al Sisi issued a release order for 44 Sudanese prisoners in Egypt, the state-run news agency MENA reported.
The Sudanese nationals have been detained for allegedly crossing borders illegally, and they will be sent back to Sudan on an Egyptian plane.
Meanwhile, Mahmud Abdel-Halim, Sudan Ambassador to Cairo, confirmed to the Sudanese News Agency (SUNA) that the Egyptian President has pardoned the Sudanese nationals detained in Egypt.
He explained that the decision comes in response to the recent amnesty offer by President Omar Bashir to release about 101 Egyptian fishermen, who had been detained since April in Sudan.
The Sudanese diplomat pointed out that President Bashir’s decision was a gift to the people of Egypt for the inauguration of the Suez Canal’s new extension, while President Al Sisi’s decision was a gift to the people of Sudan who are sharing with them the celebration.
The two presidential pardons show strong and special ties between the two sisterly countries, according to the Sudanese diplomat.
The Sudanese decision reportedly comes following intense negotiations between the Egyptian and Sudanese governments over the fate of the fishermen in the past few weeks.
Previously, families of the detained fishermen protested to demand the Egyptian authorities to press for the fishermen’s release.