CAIRO, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Arab League (AL) congratulated the Sudanese people on the signing of a power-sharing deal between the ruling military council and the opposition for a three-year transitional period, the Cairo-based pan-Arab body said in a statement on Sunday.

The constitutional declaration was formally signed on Saturday between the opposition bloc Freedom and Change Alliance and the ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC), creating a joint military-civilian council to temporarily rule the country and pave the way for elections.

"AL Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit plans to visit Khartoum soon in the light of the role that the AL intends to play in the coming period in support of stability and development in Sudan," said the AL statement.

It added that the league backs Sudan in whatever would contribute to completing its transitional stage.

An AL delegation attended the signing ceremony in the Sudanese capital Khartoum and signed as a witness to the deal.

Tens of thousands of Sudanese people took to the streets in the capital on Saturday to celebrate the signing of the transitional agreement.

The Freedom and Change Alliance led the four-month protests in Sudan that ended up with the ouster of former President Omar al-Bashir in April.

Chaired by Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan, the TMC has been temporarily ruling Sudan since al-Bashir's ouster.