BBC News Online: World: Middle East

Syrian president in Sudan

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has begun a two-day visit to Sudan - the first by a Syrian president for more than 30 years.

The Syrian Foreign Minister, Faruq al-Shara, who is accompanying the president, said the aim was to further improve bilateral relations and enhance Arab solidarity.

Earlier, his Sudanese counterpart, Mustafa Ismail said that the two presidents would be discussing what he described as the deteriorating situation in southern Sudan, and the escalating aggression by Israel against the Palestinian people.

The last visit to a Syrian head of state to Sudan was in 1967, when President Nuderddin al-Atassi attended an Arab summit meeting.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service