Egypt, Sudan sign road, meat deal
CAIRO, 02 Nov. 2003 (MENA) — Prime Minister Atif Ubayd on Sunday witnesses the signing of two Egyptian-Sudanese deals on the import of Sudanese meat to the Egyptian markets and building a joint trunk road connecting between Suez and Port Sudan.
The Sudanese ministers of agriculture and roads gave a statement to this effect upon their arrival at Cairo airport earlier in the day.
Majdhub al-Khalifah, the Sudanese minister of agriculture who heads the Sudanese side to the Egyptian-Sudanese Higher Committee, said that the first deal would be effective within the next few weeks. The deal would involve both the public and private sectors and would be started by the export of 3,000 tonnes of meat to the Egyptian markets, he said. Egypt will be paying Sudan 1,200 US dollars per tonne.
The minister said agreement is renewable. He said it marks the start of steps to implement agreements already sealed by the higher committee to bolster cooperation between the two countries.
Hailing the would-be-signed joint road construction agreement, Sudanese Minister of Roads Muhammad Tahir said that the project does not only involve Egypt and Sudan but also South Africa and Ethiopia. He said that the road would help boost land transport between Egypt and Sudan.
The road will be built by the Egyptian Allam Company of Roads and Bridges at the cost of 88m US dollars. Half the costs will be paid by Egypt