Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has said that he will release all political detainees, as tensions ease following recent agreements with South Sudan.

“Today, we announce a decision to free all the political prisoners and renew our commitment to all political powers about dialogue,” Bashir said in a speech opening a new session of parliament on Monday.

“We confirm we will continue our communication with all political and social powers without excluding anyone, including those who are armed, for a national dialogue which will bring a solution to all the issues,” the president said.

Al Jazeera’s Harriet Martin, reporting from the capital Khartoum, said that the move marked a shift in direction from the government.

“It started implementing a six-month-old peace agreement with the South and also in recent weeks announced it would hold direct talks with a rebel group on its southern border,” Martin said.

She said the reason for the change was because of the economic impact South Sudan had felt since it split from Sudan in 2011.

“It’s lost the oil dollars from the South and that means that this government is facing a very bumpy, at least in the short term, economic future and it seems that by announcing now a sincere need for a political dialogue which will include all groups, it’s trying to avoid a bumpy political future as well,” said our correspondent.

Bashir’s statement elaborated on an offer made last week by Vice President Ali Osman Taha, who reached out to rebels in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states as well as to opposition political parties, whom he invited to join a constitutional dialogue.

The alliance of opposition parties and the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) rejected the vice president’s call.

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