CAIRO - Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit has said his country proposed a confederation option to Sudanese, meaning that the north and the south could be two countries having an army for each. "Egypt's proposal for Sudan's south and north to be a confederation with two armies and an embassy in each other was so different from any other proposals," Abul Gheit said at a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Shura Council (the Upper House of the Egyptian Parliament)Wednesday. He added that the Sudanese partners asked for some time to study the Egyptian proposal. "However, they showed some cautiousness." "Egypt is following up this critical moment in the Sudanese history, which could be very crucial in the ties between both countries," Abul Gheit said. The voter registration for the referendum is scheduled to begin next Thursday until December 2, while the southerners are expected to head for voting boxes on January 9, 2011 to decide whether south Sudan should remain united with the north or secede. "If the secession decision was the choice of the south, we should have strong, friendly ties with the Sudanese brethren," Abul Gheit said. Ten days ago, Abul Gheit and Chief of the Egyptian Intelligence Service Omar Suleiman made a brief visit to Sudan where they held talks with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and his Vice President Salava Kiir. Preparations are behind schedule and the head of the organising committee said this week that it would take "a miracle" for the vote to be held on time. "It is not a problem if the referendum is delayed for several months," MENA quoted the Egyptian minister as saying. "Sudanese should take into account the priority of the importance of life over the importance of holding the referendum on time," he said. Abul Gheit said Egypt sought to prevent violence between north and south Sudan, “whatever the result is, either separation or unity”. In a joint press conference with his Sudanese counterpart Ali Karti on Saturday, Abul Gheit said the referendum was indispensable in procuring widespread rights in Sudan. The Egyptian official also emphasised the need to resolve the outstanding issues of dispute.
