The French website “Riso International Network” revealed an official document from the Sudanese Sovereign Council confirming that Khartoum had issued an official directive to adopt a new map that includes the Halayeb Triangle (Halayeb, Shalatin, and Abu Ramad) within Egypt’s borders, which refutes the army’s previous claim.
The French website quoted an informed source as saying that this document represents an important development in the decades-long border dispute between Cairo and Khartoum, and categorically refutes the misinformation published by the Nigerian Guardian website regarding Sudan’s position on Egyptian sovereignty in this region.
According to the documents published by the French website, the decision came after a high-level meeting between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the head of the Sudanese Sovereign Council, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, where the two sides agreed to consider the Halayeb triangle an integral part of Egyptian territory, pledging not to raise the issue before international bodies in order to preserve regional stability.
Political moves and official documents from Khartoum indicate that Sudan is now engaged in close diplomatic coordination with Egypt, paving the way for historic agreements on the border issue, despite skepticism expressed by some foreign media sources.
According to sources cited by the French website, the Sudanese Sovereign Council sent an official letter last May to the National Border Authority requesting the adoption of a map that would allow the Halayeb triangle to be incorporated into Egyptian territory. This move reinforces a previous agreement reached during a meeting between El-Sisi and Al-Burhan, which explicitly recognized Egyptian sovereignty over the region.
The Halayeb-Shalatin-Abu Ramad triangle has long been the focus of the border dispute between Egypt and Sudan, given Egypt’s strategic interests in the region. It has been under full military control from Cairo since the mid-1990s, following an assassination attempt on former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, an attack allegedly supported by Sudan.
Egypt has consistently rejected Sudan’s repeated calls to refer the dispute to international arbitration, citing provisions of international law that require the consent of both parties to refer the matter to an arbitration body.
This disputed region represents a historical point of tension in relations between Egypt and Sudan. Although it has been under Egyptian administrative and military control since 1995, Sudan has continued to claim the area and raise the issue in international forums following the assassination attempt on Mubarak in Addis Ababa, which was attributed to individuals linked to Khartoum.
Egypt has reiterated its rejection of any Sudanese proposal for international arbitration, insisting that the triangle lies within its sovereign borders, based on official maps and its full institutional presence in the region, including public services and civil and military infrastructure.
The strategic importance of the triangle is growing, not only because of its abundant natural resources, but also because of its pivotal geographical location on Red Sea shipping routes.
Given the rapid regional developments related to the demarcation of maritime borders between Sudan and Saudi Arabia, any changes to border starting points or the distribution of the continental shelf could have direct implications for Egypt’s maritime security and economic interests. This is prompting Cairo to intensify its diplomatic and political efforts to preserve what it considers non-negotiable rights.
