Egyptian businessmen are looking at Sudan for untapped trade and investment opportunities, reports Niveen Wahish While Egypt and Sudan have always been extensions of each other geographically and culturally, political relations have had their ups and downs, and economic relations have not measured up to expectations. Egyptian- Sudanese trade stood at only $135 million last year. This dynamic, however, may be changing, now that both countries are working on boosting bilateral trade and investment relations. Just last week, the Egyptian and Sudanese trade ministers met in Cairo to iron out obstacles hindering trade. The gathering took place within the framework of the Egyptian- Sudanese joint committee. During the meeting, the Egyptian side requested that the Sudanese side meet its commitments to the Common Market for East and South Africa (COMESA) agreement, of which both Egypt and Sudan are signatories. According to that agreement, exports from both sides should have been flowing, tariff-free, into each other's countries by the year 2000. Although Sudan had requested that tariffs on a list of 58 products be lifted gradually until reaching total exemption status by 2006, Egypt said implementation of that plan was going too slow. To meet the Egyptians halfway, the Sudanese minister, Abdel-Hamid Mousa Kasha, said the status of 15 Egyptian exports to Sudan would immediately change. Five of those items will enjoy total customs exemption, while the remaining 10 will pay 70 per cent duties (instead of 100 per cent). The list includes marble, washing machines, cassette recorders, radios, telephones, furniture and minibuses. Sudan promised that the remaining 43 items on the list would be removed by 2006. The Sudanese side also made a number of demands. They requested that laboratories be established on the Egyptian side of the border to test incoming goods immediately, rather than having them stored until a sample is sent to laboratories in Cairo, during which time the products may rot. The Egyptian side promised to study the matter, especially considering the fact that most Sudanese exports are perishable goods such as vegetables and fish. It is clear that procedures are not the only thing hampering trade; the logistics of the trade process may be an even bigger burden. Abdel-Fatah El-Beheiri, head of the Egyptian-Sudanese Business Council, pointed out that the four rights -- of entry, residence, work, and ownership -- agreed upon by the parliaments of both countries are not being implemented. While the Sudanese side is allowing Egyptians in, Egypt has yet to respond in kind. In fact, El-Beheiri said, "Sudanese businessmen are complaining that they are waiting for weeks to get a visa." He also said that work on infrastructure projects that would facilitate trade between the two countries needed speeding up. Three roads are currently being built: the coastal road alongside the Red Sea; a road that runs from Toshka southwards; and the Aswan/ Halfa highway. He also demanded that Egyptian trucks, transporting Egyptian exports, be allowed into Sudanese territory. "The fact that we have to unload the goods results in theft and damage. Plus, Sudanese trucks charge high fees." Trade is only half of the story. Investment is another area where Egyptians are tapping the Sudanese market. The Egyptian Commercial Bank (ECB), in cooperation with Egyptian and Sudanese businessmen, is setting up a bank to finance trade between the two countries. "Sudan is full of investment opportunities," said ECB general manager Amr Bahaa. "It is a country that needs everything." Telecom Egypt is one company that has invested in Sudan. Together with Sudantel and Siemens, it has extended a fiber optic cable connection between the two countries. The 1700km-long cable -- 1300kms of which are in Egypt, and 400kms in Sudan -- went into operation last week. Two factories have also been established: Egypt's Olympic Group has partnered with Sudanese businessmen to manufacture refrigerators; and Sewedy Electric Cables have done the same to produce cables in Sudan. Agriculture is another area with plenty of scope for cooperation. According to Hussein Mirghani, head of government investments at the Sudanese Finance Ministry, both governments are hoping to revive a joint project to plant some 300,000 feddans in Tamazin. The project, he said, dates back to before the war in the south. "Now that the war is over, we hope we can get it going again." He said that the Sudanese government has decided to increase its share in the project from $2 to $3 million and are waiting for the Egyptian side to do the same. Mirghani was optimistic about the Sudanese investment climate. Most foreign projects have no problem repatriating their revenues, he said, and because of Sudan's petroleum production, hard currency is readily available. Sudan's investment law, meanwhile, is encouraging to investors. He also said the crisis in Darfur was not an obstacle to investment, since Sudan is a huge country, spanning some 2.5 million square kilometres.
