The disputed Halaib area between Cairo and Khartoum "will become an area for joint investments between the two countries," said Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil al-Araby on Thursday, after a meeting with his Sudanese counterpart Ali Karti in Cairo. The two ministers discussed cooperation at the political and economic levels between the Egypt and Sudan, as well as coordination regarding the Nile Basin water issue. Karti said that a Sudanese economic committee, accompanied by a group of Sudanese businessmen, will visit Egypt next week for further exchanges in the areas of agriculture, and trade. Karti went on to say that the two ministers discussed the Halaib issue “purely from within a perspective of cooperation.” Karti also said his Egyptian counterpart will be visiting Khartoum in mid-June to continue discussions on common issues and to make sure "the Egyptian-Sudanese roadmap is going as planned." The Halaib Triangle border area has been an issue of contention since the late 19th century. In 1899, when Britain occupied Egypt and Sudan, the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium Agreement for Sudan set the political boundary between the territories at the 22nd parallel, placing the Halaib Triangle inside Egyptian borders. In 1902, the British drew a separate "administrative boundary" that placed the Halaib Triangle under Sudanese administration because its inhabitants were closer to Khartoum than Cairo. The Halaib Triangle, which includes the three main towns of Halayeb, Abu Ramad and Shalatin, stretches over 21,000 square kilometers. The area remained under Egyptian-Sudanese joint control until the dispute resurfaced in 1992, when Sudan allowed a Canadian oil company to search for petrol in the waters off Halaib. Negotiations began, but the company pulled out of the deal until sovereignty was settled. In 2004, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir claimed that despite his nation's withdrawal in 2000, the area still rightfully belonged to Sudan and the country submitted a memorandum in this regard to the UN. Translated from the Arabic Edition
