Sudan's ambassador to Egypt, Abdul Rahman Siral-Khatim, has said the two countries have overcome their difference following a brief row over statements by the new Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Karti, who recently described Egypt's role in Sudan as "weak."

Karti went on to accuse Egypt of insufficiently understanding the complex nature of Sudan's political scene.

During a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit on Tuesday, Siral-Khatim said the dispute is over and that the incident would strengthen rather than damage Egyptian-Sudanese relations. He added that Karti delivered his statements before he was sworn in for the new post and stressed that the statements aimed to push forward relations between the two countries.

Speaking about the Nile Basin water dispute--which involves Egypt, Sudan and seven other basin states--Siral-Khatim affirmed that both Sudan and Egypt have a unified stance on the issue, which is based on a firm commitment to previous Nile waters agreements and to solving the crisis with basin states in a positive atmosphere..

Translated from the Arabic Edition.