The visit by a partisan delegation to Sudan and Eritrea seeks to improve ties with Africa, reports Doaa El-Bey The partisan delegation, which visited Sudan, Southern Sudan and Ethiopia this week, aspired to improve Egypt's relation with Africa especially with the Nile Basin states. It planned to build on the efforts of the popular diplomacy delegation that visited Ethiopia last week and Uganda last month. "Any success in Africa, even if it is on a partisan level, is welcomed," Mustafa El-Guindi, a former MP and the coordinator of the popular diplomacy delegation that visited Ethiopia and Uganda, told Al-Ahram Weekly. The delegation, headed by the president of the opposition Wafd Party El-Sayed El-Badawi, met Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir and his Vice President Othman Taha in Khartoum. Al-Bashir discussed with the delegation ways to improve bilateral relations between Cairo and Khartoum and expressed his belief that Egypt is regaining its leading role in the Arab world and Africa following the 25 January Revolution. The delegation also met with various political parties in Khartoum. The team then headed to the South on Monday for more meetings with President of the South Sudan Government Salva Kiir and a number of high-ranking officials. The last leg of the tour, to Eritrea, aims at boosting economic relations between Cairo, Khartoum, Juba and Eritrea. The delegation included members of the Ghad, Tagammu and Nasserist opposition parties, in addition to political analysts and journalists. The delegation failed to resolve differences over the choice of Mustafa El-Feki as the new secretary-general of the Arab League. Sudan objected to El-Feki, deciding instead to back the Qatari candidate Abdel-Rahman Hamad Al-Attia. The objection came over criticism El-Feki directed last year at Khartoum as the worst government in the country's history, blaming it for the secession of Sudan. Although El-Feki tried to explain that his remarks were taken out of context, and apologised, Sudan insisted on backing the Qatari candidate. El-Guindi said this week's delegation was different from the popular diplomacy team that visited Ethiopia and Uganda. "The popular diplomacy delegation coordinated its visits to Africa with the Armed Forces, the prime minister and the foreign minister. If we do not coordinate with officials, our mission will not be constructive," El-Guindi said. Egypt is more in need of widely presented popular delegations rather than partisan-based, he added. In another encouraging move, Prime Minister Essam Sharaf is scheduled to visit Ethiopia next week. The visit is supposed to mark Egypt's return as a key player in Africa and opens a new chapter in ties with the continent. Sharaf will meet Ethiopian President Girma Wolde-Giorgis and Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to discuss bilateral issues related especially to the fair distribution of the Nile water. A number of bilateral agreements are expected to be signed in order to boost the volume of trade and investment between the two countries. The Egyptian premier's visit to Ethiopia would build on the visit by the popular diplomacy delegation last week. Egypt sent a 48-member delegation to Addis Ababa that reflected a new spirit in Egypt's relationship with Ethiopia and the countries of the Nile Basin which could help end the row over the Nile. During the Egyptian delegation's visit last week, Ethiopia agreed to postpone ratification of the new treaty which six Upper Nile states signed in protest against the 1929 and 1959 pacts that gave Egypt and Sudan rights to use 90 per cent of the Nile's water resources. It also gave Egypt the right to veto the building of dams by other Nile countries on the Nile Basin. Ethiopian officials said the delay is a goodwill gesture to allow Egypt to form a new government after the stepping down of Hosni Mubarak in a popular uprising earlier this year. Sharaf also met last month with Ethiopia's ambassador to Egypt during which both sides emphasised their willingness to turn a new page and resolve the Nile Basin saga. Tension flared with Ethiopia when it announced plans to build the Millennium Dam, a hydroelectric power dam along the Blue Nile, despite objections from Egypt and Sudan. Egyptian fear emanates from the fact that the dam could influence the flow of water to Egypt. The same popular diplomacy delegation visited the Ugandan city Entebbe last month to discuss issues concerning Nile water with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. Like Ethiopia, Uganda took the same decision to postpone the ratification of the water agreement until a new Egyptian government is formed. These unofficial delegations plough the land for better relations with other states, El-Guindi said. "Government and officials have to cultivate the land via joint projects, mutual interests and trust so that the people can harvest the fruit," he added.
