THE inauguration of the Egyptian-Sudanese Eastern Highway should be a cause for hope, but also concern. Highways connecting Egypt with Arab countries will boost their economic unity. Such roads will promote trade exchange between neighbouring countries, as well as enhancing economic, agricultural and industrial co-operation. One of the main reasons for the low economic and trade co-operation between Egypt and many African countries has been the lack of direct flights between Cairo and capitals of these countries. Another problem is the lack of highways connecting these countries, despite the fact that there are no topographical obstacles to the construction of road or rail links. The new road between Egypt and Sudan should help promote economic co-operation, especially as many agricultural projects previously mooted have yet to be implemented. There is also the need to promote imports of Sudanese livestock and frozen meat. Experts say that this new international highway will cut the cost of transporting commodities between the two countries, as well as facilitating the movement of citizens between Khartoum and Cairo, along with Libya, Tunisia and the other Arab countries in Northwest Africa. But the new highway must be carefully monitored; the concerned authorities must ensure that illegal commodities are not transported between the two countries. Nor must it be used by illegal emigrants, hoping to settle in Egypt or to transit in this country, on their way to Israel or Europe. This highway shouldn't be used for smuggling drugs and weapons into Egypt from the south, as is happening with the road connecting Egypt with Libya. In the meantime, the rest of Egypt's road network needs to be upgraded, to cope with the increasing transportation of commodities between Sudan and Egypt, and from here to other neighbouring countries.
