CAIRO, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and his visiting Sudanese counterpart Omar al-Bashir stressed on Monday the need to end all differences between their countries and broaden mutual cooperation.

"We agreed to open new horizons for mutual cooperation in various fields to serve the interests of the two countries," Sisi told a joint press conference after his meeting with Bashir.

Bashir's visit comes amid strained relations between the two African countries over a number of thorny issues.

The Egyptian president said Bashir's visit reflects a positive spirit, consultation, coordination and cooperation in different fields between the two countries.

Meanwhile, the Sudanese president said there is strong political will to solve any problems between both countries.

He added that Egypt and Sudan are on the verge of a historic stage due to crises witnessed by the region.

Bashir pointed out that there will be more consultations and cooperation between both countries through joint mechanisms in various fields.

Egyptian-Sudanese relations have been tense over the past few years on various issues, including their difference over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) which Ethiopia is building on their shared Nile River.

While both Ethiopia and Sudan are eyeing massive benefits from the GERD construction, Egypt believes it undermines its 55.5 billion cubic meters as annual share of the Nile River water.

Egypt and Sudan also have a territorial dispute over the border region of Halayeb and Shalateen, which is currently under Egyptian control.

In early January, Khartoum recalled its ambassador to Egypt for consultation over "potential security threats" from Egypt and Eritrea following reported military moves in Eritrea's Sawa area near the border with Sudan's state of Kassala.

The Sudanese ambassador returned to Cairo earlier this month.

In May 2017, Bashir also accused Egypt of providing military support to armed rebels in his country, which was strongly denied by Sisi.