Saudi Arabia is seeking to revive discussions with Sudan over the demarcation of maritime borders in the Red Sea, as the country continues to grapple with a devastating war and a deepening humanitarian crisis.
Sudan has been embroiled in conflict since mid-April 2023, with fighting involving the Forces of the Sudan Founding Alliance, known as “Tasis”, and the army affiliated with authorities in Port Sudan. The conflict has affected millions of Sudanese and disrupted the country's political and economic stability.
Against this backdrop, authorities in Port Sudan have resumed discussions on the maritime border issue, with reports indicating that representatives from the two sides have held meetings described as secret.
The renewed activity has coincided with engagements between Saudi Ambassador to Sudan Zaid bin Mukhallad Al-Harbi and senior Sudanese officials in Port Sudan during the current month.
Among those reported to have met the ambassador are Lieutenant General Yasser Abdulrahman Al-Atta, Director General of the Sea Ports Corporation of the Republic of Sudan, Engineer Gilani Mohamed Gilani and Deputy Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council Malik Agar.
The latest developments have revived earlier reports that Sudanese leader Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan had agreed to surrender the country's maritime borders along the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia in exchange for financial support.
Sudanese media outlets reported about a year ago that the alleged arrangement was negotiated behind closed doors. Subsequent reports also indicated that a joint maritime borders committee between Sudan and Saudi Arabia had previously been established but suspended its work for reasons that remain unclear.
Saudi Arabia is now reportedly seeking to reactivate the committee.
Postponement of the final agreement
These moves came after Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council, instructed about a year ago that the final form of the agreement on the demarcation of the maritime borders between the Republic of Sudan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia be postponed, due to ongoing consultations with the Egyptian side on the matter.
According to Sudanese reports, this came as a result of direct Egyptian pressure after information was leaked concerning Sudanese-Saudi committees working on an agreement to demarcate the maritime borders between the two countries.
The Egyptian side exerted pressure on Al-Burhan to act in order to safeguard its interests, considering such a move an encroachment on the sphere.
The Maritime Border Demarcation Committee between the Republic of Sudan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia held a meeting on 20/9/2025, chaired by Lieutenant General Engineer Al-Amin Mohamed Banqa and attended by the Minister of Justice (Chairman of the Legal Committee) and members of the various committees.
The meeting discussed the amendments to be made to the final form of the agreement on the demarcation of the maritime borders between Sudan and Saudi Arabia, following the incorporation of amendments to be made to the map of Sudan after the signing of the agreement on the demarcation of the land and maritime borders between Sudan and Egypt.
The committee’s mandate was extended to demarcate the maritime baseline and establish a maritime database, as well as to appoint a technical and legal delegation to hold meetings with the Egyptian side to formulate the initial framework for the demarcation of the land and maritime borders between Sudan and Egypt.
Experts have affirmed that Al-Burhan, as a result of his need for regional support, particularly from Egypt and Saudi Arabia and from some major countries, has begun trading this support for the relinquishment of sovereign rights, in a move that constitutes an overreach of his powers, given that the transitional council has no right to relinquish or surrender Sudanese territories.
Moreover, such agreements require the approval of the Sudanese National Assembly, which was dissolved in the aftermath of the military coup that ousted former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.
At the same time, reports stated that the Sudanese Sovereignty Council sent a letter to the National Borders Commission on 11 May 2025, requesting that it adopt a map showing the triangle within Egyptian borders during talks with the Saudi side concerning the details of the demarcation of the maritime borders between Sudan and Saudi Arabia.
Reviving the issue after more than half a century
The first talks between the two sides on this matter began on 11 July 1973 in the city of Jeddah, to determine the boundaries of the continental shelf between the two countries and consider the issue of joint cooperation in exploiting the resources of the seabed of the Red Sea.
These talks concluded with the initialling, on 20 July 1973, of a draft agreement on the joint exploitation of the natural resources located on and beneath the seabed of the Red Sea, before the agreement was finally signed in Khartoum on 16 May 1974. It entered into force following the exchange of instruments of ratification.
Under the agreement, the seabed of the Red Sea between Sudan and Saudi Arabia was divided into three areas. The first area extends eastward into the Red Sea, alongside the Sudanese coast from north to south, to a depth of 1,000 meters below sea level.
In Article Three, Saudi Arabia recognized Sudan’s exclusive sovereign rights in this area and that it claimed no rights therein. The second area extends westward into the Red Sea, alongside the Saudi coast from north to south, to a depth of 1,000 meters below sea level.
In return, Sudan recognized in Article Four Saudi Arabia’s exclusive sovereign rights in this area and that it claimed no rights therein.
Observers stress the need to legally review the 1974 agreement to determine what protects Sudan’s rights and what requires updating, particularly as the agreement covers mineral and hydrocarbon resources in the seabed, and that 10.
Sudan must settle its maritime borders and rights before expanding any partnerships to exploit resources; the continued absence of formally agreed economic boundaries could open the door in the future to disputes over sovereignty and wealth that a country exhausted by war does not need, while there is also a need to investigate the scale of the potential mineral and hydrocarbon wealth in the shared area and who has the right to exploit it under the 1974 agreement.
Two parties to the crisis
Meanwhile, Sudanese activist Sabah Mohamed Al-Hassan says that on the same day that Egypt and Saudi Arabia announced a position supporting Al-Burhan’s legitimacy, Washington responded by saying: “There is no future in Sudan for the warring military parties.”
In an article, she added: “The statements by Egypt and Saudi Arabia regarding Sudan reveal that the two countries are creating a new regional positioning that moves away from the American vision and closer to formulating a regional position of their own toward the security of the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa.”
According to the writer, this idea “conflicts with Western proposals that speak of integrating the forces or carrying out joint restructuring, and aligns with the vision of the Sudanese army and its regional allies.”
She continued: “Amid this regional and international race, the citizen is the victim of the largest economic crisis, as the Sudanese pound collapsed yesterday, rendering the Sudanese economy completely devastated.”
She stressed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s plan to provide a financial grant of US$20 million, which she said was intended to support a number of ministries in Sudan, would not come to its aid.
This grant is akin to Saudi Arabia’s grant to Bashir in his final days, which may go into the pockets of individuals rather than ministries, and may be divided among five people on the military council, with Jibril as the sixth.
