KHARTOUM - Sudan needs Egypt to invest its manpower, money and expertise in the country's fertile farmland, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir told an Egyptian delegation visiting Khartoum Saturday. The Sudanese President also said Egypt was urged to exploit the potential of Sudan to transform it into a 'food basket for the world'. "Sudan is open for Egyptian investors in all fields. We welcome them with every facility," al-Bashir said, stressing that his country is looking forward to 'restoring strong ties with Egypt'. Al-Bashir's comments came during the visit of the Egyptian popular diplomacy delegation, headed by el-Sayed el-Badawi, the Chairman of Egypt's Al-Wafd Party. "The decline of Egypt's diplomacy in Africa led to a flourishing Israeli presence. However, this will change in the wake of the revolution," al-Bashir said. He watered down the impact of a dispute over the controversial border area of Halayeb on bilateral ties. Halayeb is claimed by Sudan as part of its territories, despite being under the Egyptian flag. "The northern Sudanese borders were demarcated by Egypt and the British occupation. However, in Sudan, we are not fanatical about Halayeb," al-Bashir said. El-Badawi, who has recently led similar visits to Uganda and Ethiopia, said that the Egyptians were 'looking forward to restoring strong ties with Sudan'. "I'm going to ask the (ruling) Military Council in Egypt to enter Egypt without visas, in a meeting on Wednesday," el-Badawi said. He also declared an initiative, being organised by ten Egyptian businessmen, to reclaim and plant 1 million feddans (acres) in Sudan, with the land to be given to Egyptian and Sudanese families as grants.
