The two leaders discussed ways to settle the crisis in Sudan, enhance bilateral relations between Egypt and Ethiopia, and the issue of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Ahmed leads Ethiopia's delegation that will participate in Sudan Neighbouring Countries Summit, which Egypt will host on Thursday upon an invitation from El-Sisi.

This is the first official meeting between El-Sisi and Ahmed since October 2019 when they met in Sochi on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa summit. Although the two leaders had informal encounters at the Summit for the New Global Financing Pact in Paris last month and during COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh in November 2022, they did not hold official talks.

The summit aims to peacefully settle the crisis in Sudan in coordination with other regional and international efforts, and establish effective mechanisms involving neighbouring countries to end the current conflict has plunged Sudan into a bloody conflict over the past three months.

In addition to the Ethiopian premier, Chad’s President Idriss Déby, Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki, and South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir arrived in Cairo earlier Wednesday to participate in the summit.

The leaders of Sudan's neighbouring countries are also expected to discuss mechanisms to address the dire humanitarian situation resulting from the influx of thousands of Sudanese refugees into their countries since the conflict broke out in mid-April.

In late June, Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry stated that Egypt has received over 250,000 Sudanese, which accounts for about 60 percent of the total number of Sudanese who have fled their country. Furthermore, there were already five million Sudanese living in Egypt.