17 - 23 May 2001
Issue No.534
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 17 - 23 May 2001 Issue No.534 |
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'Total normalisation' with Khartoum
Cairo and Khartoum appear set to revive their traditionally warm ties, reports Nevine Khalil
Egyptian-Sudanese relations received a strong boost during a short visit by Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir to Egypt on Sunday. Al-Bashir's meeting with President Hosni Mubarak at the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh resulted in agreement on a number of measures to cement economic ties and cooperation in numerous fields.
Mubarak welcoming Al-Bashir at Sharm El-Sheikh airport on Sunday
It also led to the creation of a joint businessmen's council and the upgrading of a bilateral committee for cooperation, which will now be called the Supreme Joint Committee, to be headed by Egypt's prime minister and Sudan's vice president.
The traditionally warm ties between the two countries are being revived following five strained years. The two presidents also reviewed the 1999 Egyptian-Libyan initiative to bring peace to Sudan, which has been plagued by a civil war raging since 1983.
In a joint communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, Mubarak and Al-Bashir committed themselves to "total normalisation" of bilateral relations, which had been chilled by Khartoum's backing of Egyptian militant Islamist groups. Mubarak was last in Khartoum in 1989, shortly after Al-Bashir seized power in a military coup. Al-Bashir later showed his true colours by heading an Islamist-led government.
After an assassination attempt on Mubarak's life in Addis Ababa in June 1995, with some of the assailants believed to have trained and found refuge in Sudan, relations between the two countries were all but severed. Since December 1999, however, the two neighbours have warmed to each other, especially after Al-Bashir deposed Islamist ideologue and former parliament speaker Hassan Al-Turabi. Egypt reappointed an ambassador to Khartoum, and this week they agreed to open consulates in both countries to facilitate cooperation.
The two presidents agreed to remove all barriers restricting the movement of nationals and goods between the two countries, and to boost cooperation in the fields of industry, investment, agriculture, trade, road-building and communications.
Al-Bashir also held separate talks with Prime Minister Atef Ebeid, as did the ministers of defence, foreign affairs, finance, information, industry and investment of both nations. "We agreed to foster bilateral relations, especially in trade and economy," Al-Bashir said before heading to Brussels to attend a UN meeting of the less advanced countries.
On regional issues, Mubarak and Al-Bashir focused on efforts to bring peace and stability to civil war-torn Sudan. Egypt and Libya are co-sponsoring an initiative to reconcile the Muslim and Arab government in Khartoum with the predominantly animist and Christian rebels in the south. Mubarak and Al-Bashir agreed that the initiative was "the appropriate framework to unite efforts to reach a peaceful settlement in Sudan." They also called for continued coordination with the East African Inter-Governmental Authority for Development (IGAD), which is sponsoring a parallel effort to bring peace to Sudan.
Mubarak said Egypt supported the national unity of Sudan and was committed to making every necessary effort to bring peace and stability to its southern neighbour. He also praised Al-Bashir's efforts for "democratic reform and expanding political participation in Sudan."
Al-Bashir, for his part, said he wanted "to see Egypt's role in this peace process activated through the joint initiative."
The joint communiqué condemned Israel's "vicious" attacks against the Palestinians, and called for the lifting of sanctions imposed on Libya and the alleviation of the suffering of the Iraqi people. The two presidents also expressed support for the interim government in Somalia, as well as the peace agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
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