KHARTOUM, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno on Monday arrived in Khartoum on a two-day official visit to Sudan.

The Chadian president was received upon arrival at Khartoum airport by his Sudanese counterpart Omar al-Bashir and a number of senior government officials.

President Deby will attend a gathering of the Chadians residing in Sudan at the Friendship Hall in Khartoum, where he is also expected to deliver a speech.

Al-Bashir and Deby are expected to hold talks, and a number of advisers and top officers of the Chadian army will also hold meetings with their Sudanese counterparts on bilateral political and security ties, Sudan's Alraed daily reported on Monday.

Earlier in the day, Sudanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Deng Alor said the visit of the Chadian president to Sudan is important, which would push forwards the normalization of bilateral ties.

"This is a historic visit at a proper time and will have positive effects on bilateral ties," Alor told reporters upon the Chadian president's arrival at Khartoum airport Monday.

This is the first visit for the president of Chad to its neighbor since his last visit to Sudan about six years ago.

The Chadian government had accused Khartoum of supporting Chadian rebels in eastern Chad. The Sudanese government denied the accusation and accused Chad of providing assistance for the rebel movements in the western Sudanese region of Darfur.

Last month, the two countries agreed to reactivate the security protocols brokered by regional mediators and reinforce the control over the joint borders