As Egypt and Nigeria cement ties, Sudan is no longer relegated to the shadows of regional politics, writes Gamal Nkrumah President Hosni Mubarak met his Nigerian counterpart Olusegun Obasanjo in Cairo on Friday to discuss a host of bilateral issues and forge closer ties. Topping the agenda was the Sudanese peace process. Nigeria and Egypt, with populations of 130 million and 75 million respectively, are Africa's two most populous nations. Due to their geographical location, the two countries also wield tremendous political and economic influence in West Africa and Northeast Africa. In addition, Nigeria has one of Africa's largest oil and natural gas resources, and exports a vast array of minerals and agricultural produce. At a bilateral level, Egypt and Nigeria agreed to set up a free-trade zone and to convene the first session of the joint trade committee by mid-2005. Bilateral trade now hovers around LE173 million, and the two countries pledge to increase cooperation in the transportation, tourism, pharmaceutical and education sectors. Through their free-trade initiative, the two countries are also determined to prevent dual taxation. Egypt and Nigeria plan to organise an exhibition of Egyptian goods in Nigeria and another for Nigerian goods in Egypt in 2005 in a step designed to cement existing ties between the private sectors in both countries. The visit to Egypt by President Obasanjo reflects a growing interest in both countries to rekindle old ties and forge new economic and trade relations. Political coordination at the highest level is now seen as prerequisite to any sort of increased cooperation between two of Africa's largest economies. Though while the two leaders acknowledged that political cooperation is pivotal, they noted that the role played by the private sector must not be underestimated. President Obasanjo met with key Egyptian industrialists and businessmen and was accompanied by a large delegation of Nigerian private sector representatives. Nigeria, in its current capacity as holder of the presidency of the African Union (AU), a continental body of 53 countries, has assumed a leading role in resolving the Sudanese political crisis, and especially the conflict in Darfur. Indeed, Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir paid a visit to Egypt on Sunday. Mubarak and his Sudanese counterpart reviewed the latest developments in Darfur. Peace talks aimed at resolving the political crisis in Darfur are currently being held in the Nigerian capital Abuja. As part of the talks, the Nigerian president has taken a keen personal interest in mediating between the Sudanese government and the armed opposition groups in Darfur. Nigeria, like Egypt, strongly opposes the imposition of international sanctions against Sudan. Both Egypt and Nigeria prefer to see a peaceful resolution to the conflicts in southern Sudan and Darfur. Moreover, Egypt and Nigeria see in the Sudanese conflict an opportunity to enhance African-Arab cooperation. In a separate move but related issue, Egypt is determined to garner support for the Sudanese peace process. Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit hosted a foreign ministerial meeting at the Foreign Ministry headquarters in Cairo this week. This was attended by both Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Othman Ismail and his Libyan counterpart Abdul-Rahman Shalgam. Also in attendance were Nigeria's minister for cooperation and integration in Africa, Senator Lawan Guba; Chad's ambassador to Egypt; and former Nigerian foreign minister Baba Gana Kingibe, who now holds the position of special representative of the chairman of the Commission of the AU. The Cairo meeting is the first since the 17 October summit in Tripoli, Libya. In Tripoli, the leaders of Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Chad and Nigeria pledged to monitor the situation in Darfur and speed up the Sudanese peace process. A follow-up meeting is scheduled to take place in the Libyan capital in mid-January. Abul-Gheit told reporters that the summit's objective was to determine the role of the AU in resolving the ongoing conflict, noting that the United Nations had awarded the pan-African body a licence to broker and keep the peace in Darfur. The Arab League (AL) is also expected to play a key role in resolving the crisis in Darfur. "We discussed ways in which both, the AU and the AL can cooperate together to end the conflict in Darfur," Abul-Gheit said. He also said that the meeting discussed how best to ensure that the Darfur conflict be resolved within the context of an "African framework". While Sudan's neighbours expressed alarm at the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian catastrophe in Darfur, they are also disinclined to internationalise the Darfur crisis. Representatives of the five African countries stressed the pivotal role assigned the AU and rejected any suggestion of foreign military intervention. They described the coordination between the AU and the AL as a "concrete expression of African-Arab brotherhood and solidarity". The foreign ministers and representatives urged the protagonists in the Darfur conflict to comply with the Tripoli summit's call to sign the protocols on the enhancement of peace, security and the humanitarian situation in Darfur. They also urged the warring Sudanese factions to comply fully with the letters of agreement they had previously signed, especially the Ndjamena Ceasefire Agreement of April 2004. The Sudanese protagonists were urged to show utmost restraint particularly when their actions involved the protection of Darfur's civilian population and ensuring the delivery of humanitarian relief assistance to those most desperately in need. Sudan's foreign minister downplayed reports by the international media that the Abuja talks would once again falter. Expressing satisfaction in the progress of the talks so far and faith in their ultimate outcome, he said that 50 per cent of the problems that Darfur faced have been solved. ''We want peace and we definitely want to end war and violence," Othman told reporters in Cairo. Additional reporting by Reem Nafie and Magda El-Ghitany
