Egypt’s FM visits Juba, Khartoum

January 14, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – Egypt’s foreign minister Mohamed Amr on Saturday visited both Sudan and South Sudan, one week after Cairo offered to mediate between the recently separated countries on their outstanding issues.

Amr first arrived in South Sudan’s capital Juba, where he said his country plans to increase development support to the newly independent state.

“We have a new budgeted plan devised for the economic and social development of South Sudan and today we will discuss with our brothers in South Sudan the details of implementing this plan and the coordination between relevant ministries. The plan is in accordance with the priorities of the South Sudan government and what it sees fit as this stage,” Amr said at a press conference following a meeting with South Sudan’s president Salva Kiir.

But Egypt’s top diplomat made no secret of Cairo’s hopes that Juba would reciprocate in another arena.

“We realise that our brothers in South Sudan are aware of Egypt’s interests and the importance of the Nile water for Egypt,” he said.

Egypt has been at loggerheads with six countries in the Nile Basin over their attempts to reverse its lion share of the Nile water as defined in a colonial-era accord.

The grossly underdeveloped South Sudan, which seceded from Sudan in July last year, is widely expected to join its neighbours in attempting to alter share of the river’s water.

Prior to his visit to Juba, Amr was on a Nile Basin tour which included visits to Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Amr’s journey took him to Khartoum on the same day, where he held a press conference with his Sudanese counterpart Ali Karti at the Diplomatic Club.

In the conference, the Sudanese top diplomat urged Cairo to break free from what he termed as the “security delusions” that Egypt’s ousted regime of Mubarak had towards Khartoum.

Karti said that Sudan always had a strong desire for good relations with Egypt but this did not happen in the past due to the former regime’s security view of its relations with Khartoum.

The Sudanese minister was obviously referring to the nadir of Egypt-Sudan’s relations in the mid 1990 following Egypt’s accusation that Khartoum was behind a failed attempt to assassinate Mubarak in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

Karti said that bilateral relations with Egypt witnessed progress after the fall of Mubarak’s regime in February last year.

Turning to relations with South Sudan, Karti said that Khartoum cannot be harmed by relations between Cairo and Juba. On the contrary, he added, Sudan supports more communications and stronger relations between the two countries.

Khartoum last week revealed it has received and welcomed an offer from Cairo to mediate between Sudan and South Sudan to resolve their post-secession issues.

Talks between the two countries are already mediated by an AU panel chaired by former South African president Thabo Mbeki.

For his part, the Egyptian minister said that relations between Khartoum and Cairo became stronger following the 25 January revolution that unseated Mubarak.

He lauded Sudan’s support to Egypt over the Nile water row, saying that Khartoum and Cairo speak in one voice when it comes to the water issues.

(ST)