July 6, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir will travel to Doha on Tuesday in a two-day visit in response to an invitation from Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, it was announced here today.

The announcement came at the heels of a surprise stop in Khartoum on Sunday by the Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid Al-Attiyah who held a meeting with Bashir along with his Sudanese counterpart Ali Karti.

Karti was quoted by Sudan official news agency (SUNA) as saying that al-Attiyah’s visit aims at exchanging views on developing bilateral ties and deliberating on regional current events.

He expressed hope that the Muslim holy month of Ramadan would be an opportunity to clear tensions in the region.

“We see hopes and positive movement in the region in the coming period,” Karti said.

The Qatari top diplomat also echoed the same message on bolstering ties and said he conveyed the greetings of Sheikh Tamim to president Bashir.

It is understood that Bashir received the invitation to visit Qatar during today’s meeting with al-Attiyah.

Qatar is currently facing growing isolation in the Gulf region following the decision last March by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain to withdraw their envoys from Doha over its alleged backing of the Muslim Brotherhood in the region and particularly in Egypt.

The newly sworn-in Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi made a quick visit to Khartoum in late June. Al-Sisi is seen as the key figure in the removal of his predecessor Mohamed Morsi last year in response to mass anti-Morsi demonstrations in the country.

Sudanese foreign minister also said recently that Arab Gulf states accuse Khartoum of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood.

Qatar has long been one of Sudan’s few political and financial backers. Last April, Sheikh Tamim visited Khartoum in which a large Forex deposit in Sudan’s Central Bank was announced.

The Sudanese economy has been facing growing woes since the secession of the oil-rich south in mid-2011 and has been seeking external help to shore up its deficits.