US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has changed his plans to include Sudan in his official visit to the Middle East, Channel 12 reported.
Pompeo, who landed in Israel Monday morning, will fly directly from the Jewish state to Sudan. He is also expected to include Oman in his travels.
Originally, Pompeo had planned to visit Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in an effort to help the two countries finalize the peace agreement between them.
During his visit in Israel, Pompeo is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Benny Gantz (Blue and White), and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi (Blue and White).
In his newly-announced visit to Sudan, Pompeo is expected to work to deepen the ties between Sudan and Israel.
Last week, Sudan's foreign ministry spokesman Haider Badawi was fired after he made allegedly unauthorized comments to Sky News Arabia, indicating contact had been made with Israel regarding normalizing ties.
"Israel and Sudan will benefit from a peace agreement," he said then. "We are looking at an agreement of this kind out of Sudanese interests and without giving up our values and principles." He added that "there is no reason for the continuation of hostilities between Sudan and Israel."
Netanyahu met Sudan's leader secretly in February, to discuss possible normalization of relations between the two countries.