Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, who currently leads Sudan’s Transitional Military Council (TMC), will head the Sovereign Council, a transitional national administration, for the first 21 months after its creation, the TMC said on Saturday.

“Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan will be the head of the Sovereign Council during the first period of its work. It [the council] will also include his deputy, Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo”, a TMC spokesman told the Sky News Arabia TV channel.

Meanwhile, Burhan said on Saturday, after signing the power-sharing deal with the opposition, that Sudan is entering a new, constructive, period in its development.

“I stand before you today, and I am proud that we have overcome the stage of preparations and are entering a new stage – a constructive stage … I urge all citizens of the country to consider this day a transit point between the bitterness of the past and future”, Burhan was quoted by the Sky News Arabia TV channel as saying after the signing ceremony.

The ceremony in Khartoum was attended by regional and international officials, including Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al Jubeir and others.

Earlier in the day, the TMC signed the final power transition deal with the opposition Forces of Freedom and Change movement amid the ongoing protests that have been sweeping the African nation for months.