Kuwait and Sudan have decided to resume direct flights after 17 long years of strained political relations, said an Kuwait official.

Ties between the two countries had been strained especially since the 1991 Persian Gulf War in which Sudan supported Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.

Sudanese president Omar Al Bashir had personally visited Iraq, announcing soon afterwards that the former dictator of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, had promised to meet Sudan's requirements for aid and weapons.

Kuwait had expelled hundreds of Sudanese workers after the war, but relations between the two countries improved in the late 1990s.

Bashir has made clear his intent to take a stronger pan-Arabist approach to foreign relations, including wealthy Persian Gulf countries such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the Opec are principal sources of supply to Sudan's battered economy.