Get Guardian on GoogleThe French website Réseau International revealed an official document from Sudan’s Sovereignty Council confirming that Khartoum had issued a formal directive adopting a new map that includes the Halayeb Triangle (Halayeb, Shalateen, and Abu Ramad) within Egypt’s borders, contradicting earlier claims made by the Sudanese army.
The French website, citing a well-informed source, reported that this document represents a significant development in the decades-long border dispute between Cairo and Khartoum and categorically denies the information circulated regarding Sudan’s position on Egyptian sovereignty over the area.
According to the documents published by the French website, the decision came after a high-level meeting between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Chairman of Sudan’s Sovereignty Council, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, during which both parties agreed to consider the Halayeb Triangle an integral part of Egyptian territory, pledging not to raise the matter before international bodies in order to preserve regional stability.
The 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 doubts raised by some foreign media outlets.
According to the French website’s sources, Sudan’s Sovereignty Council also sent an official letter last May to the National Border Authority requesting the adoption of a map that approves the inclusion of the Halayeb Triangle into Egyptian territory. This step reinforces a previous agreement reached during a meeting between Sisi and al-Burhan, in which Sudan explicitly acknowledged Egyptian sovereignty over the area.
The Halayeb–Shalateen–Abu Ramad Triangle has long been at the heart of the border dispute between Egypt and Sudan due to Egypt’s strategic interests in the region. It has been under Cairo’s full military control since the mid-1990s, following the assassination attempt against former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, an attack allegedly backed by Sudan.
Egypt has consistently rejected Sudan’s repeated calls to refer the dispute to international arbitration, citing international law provisions that require the consent of both parties to submit a case to an arbitration body.
This disputed area has represented a historical point of tension in Egyptian-Sudanese relations. Although it has been under Egypt’s de facto administrative and military control since 1995, Sudan has continued to claim the area and raise the issue in international forums after the assassination attempt on Mubarak in Addis Ababa, which was attributed to individuals linked to Khartoum.
Egypt reaffirms its rejection of any Sudanese proposal for international arbitration, stressing that the triangle lies within its sovereign borders, based on official maps and full institutional presence in the area, including public services as well as civilian and military infrastructure.
The strategic importance of the triangle is growing, not only due to its abundant natural resources but also because of its pivotal geographic location on Red Sea shipping routes. Given the rapid regional developments regarding the demarcation of maritime boundaries between Sudan and Saudi Arabia, any changes to border starting points or continental shelf allocations could have direct implications for Egypt’s maritime security and economic interests. This drives Cairo to intensify its diplomatic and political efforts to preserve what it considers non-negotiable rights.
