Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 20:24:58 +0200
Face to face
Reem Leila assesses the outcome of this week's meeting between President
Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi and the Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir
Friday,24 October, 2014
President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi met with his Sudanese counterpart Omar Hassan
Al-Bashir at the Al-Ittihadiya presidential palace on 18 October to discuss
bilateral relations and the conflicts in Libya and Syria. Al-Bashir's two
day visit to Cairo was his first since the removal of Mohamed Morsi, a
strong supporter of Al-Bashir and his party.
The first day of Al-Bashir's visit included a closed-door meeting with
Al-Sisi followed by one attended by ministerial delegations from both sides
at which ways of boosting economic relations were discussed.
Regional conflicts were discussed, with special attention paid to the
situation in Libya. Al-Sisi stressed Egypt's commitment to support the
free-will of the Libyan people and Libya's legitimate institutions. Both
Al-Sisi and Al-Bashir agreed to co-ordinate efforts to promote stability in
Libya through the support of state institutions, the army in particular.
"We agreed there is an urgent need to support legitimate institutions,
especially the Libyan national army," said Al-Sisi.
Presidential spokesman Alaa Youssef said in a press release the meeting was
a continuation of discussions started in Khartoum during Al-Sisi's brief
visit to Sudan in June. "Al-Bashir's is an important visit that has
dimensions and consequences in the totality of the matters that relate both
countries," said Youssef.
The talks also covered Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam. While both
presidents underlined the Nile River's importance in developing Nile Basin
states, Sudan is not against the dam whereas Egypt has been lobbying to
reduce any impact on its share of the river. Egypt believes the dam will
reduce its share of Nile water, undermining the colonial-era agreement that
allocates the lion's share of Nile water to Egypt.
"Sudan will never agree on a project which will affect Egypt's share of Nile
waters. All Nile Basin countries, including Egypt, will benefit from the
dam," said Al-Bashir.
Following tripartite two-day talks on the dam between Egypt, Sudan and
Ethiopia which ended on 17 October it was agreed that an international
consulting firm should be appointed to examine the impact of the dam on
Egypt's share of Nile water, and legal consultants to follow financial
procedures related to the project.
Al-Sisi and Bashir agreed to upgrade the joint ministerial cooperation
between their two countries to a presidential committee which they will
co-chair.
In a joint press conference held on the second day of the Sudanese
president's visit Al-Sisi said the time was ripe to promote "shared
interests and economic growth for the benefit of the two peoples".
Al-Bashir met with Egyptian businessmen to discuss investment opportunities
in Sudan. He underscored Khartoum's willingness to remove obstacles in the
way of Egyptian investments in his country.
Ahead of his visit Al-Bashir had raised the thorny issue of the Halayeb and
Shalateen border dispute. Al-Bashir was quoted in the Sudanese press saying
Khartoum might resort to international arbitration to resolve the dispute.
"I assert now, after a second meeting with my brother President Al-Sisi,
there is strong political will for the bilateral relations to move forward,"
Al-Bashir said on the final day of his visit.
Al-Sisi said the talks were positive but pointed out that building relations
with Sudan required diligence. He called on the media to take care about
what it reported and not damge relations between the two countries.
In the weeks before Al-Bashir arrived in Cairo the Egyptian media had
attacked Al-Bashir for statements about the disputed area of Halayeb and
Shalateen.
Al-Bashir stressed that relations between Egypt and Sudan are strong. He
agreed with Al-Sisi that "the media plays an important role that can be
either constructive or destructive."
Al-Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war
crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Egypt signed the ICC treaty in
2000 but has not ratified it. Though the ICC issued an official request to
Egypt to arrest Al-Bashir and hand him over to the court. Youssef pointed
out that "there will be no difficulty for Al-Bashir on entering Egypt
because it has not yet ratified the treaty."
Hassan Nafaa, professor of political science at Cairo University, excludes
the possibility of a strategic alliance between the Egyptian and Sudanese
governments on the grounds of ideological difference.
"Sudan will not enter into a direct dispute or clash with Egypt, and Egypt's
political leadership is unwilling to enter into disputes with any regional
state before domestic economic, political and security stability is
achieved," says Nafaa. As a consequence, he says, both the Ethiopian dam and
the Halayeb and Shalateen border area will remain a bone of contention
between Cairo and Khartoum.
Face to face
Al-Sisi and Al-Bashir during a press conference in Cairo on Sunday
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