President Idriss Deby of Chad is visiting neighbouring Sudan. The visit is regarded as a sign of decreasing tensions between the two countries and an important step towards a peace agreement in the troubled Darfur region of Sudan.

In the past seven years an estimated 300,000 people have died in the violence in Darfur.

Sudan accuses Chad of supporting the rebels in Darfur, while Chad claims that Sudan supported a rebel force which in 2008 managed to reach the Chadian capital N'djamena before being defeated by government troops.

Last month Sudan and Chad decided to normalise bilateral relations.