It is important to strengthen ties with west African countries in general, and Burkina Faso in particular, affirmed Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir. Bashir made the remark during his meeting Wednesday with resident ambassador of Burkina Faso and non-resident ambassador of some west African countries in Khartoum Idris Ismail, whose tour of duty will end in Sudan. In press statements following the meeting, Idris said that Bashir underlined the need of promoting ties with all west African countries, in a way which will serve joint interests.