THE recent conclusion of five landmark agreements with Juba and extending an official invitation for South Sudanese President Silva Kiir to visit Cairo have not been accorded such media exposure as would appropriately reflect their deep political worthiness. For the first time since South Sudan became independent in July 2011, Egypt takes a forward-looking step to forge practical links with the Juba as part of a grand policy to reinvigorate connections with Africa in general and with the Nile Basin countries in specific. While it may be recalled that in the lead-up for independence, former PM Essam Sharaf flew to both Khartoum and Juba, Dr. Qandil's is the first ever official visit by an Egyptian prime minister to post-independence South Sudan. In the same context came his announcement on Thursday that talks with Juba leaders and officials yielded five significant agreements for the establishment of solid co-operation in industrial projects, trade, agriculture and health services. The information available on some of the projects foreseen under these agreements gives a promising and mutually-rewarding outlook of the existing potentials for bilateral co-operation. The joint economic zone project is a good case in point. Over an area of 2 million square kilometres in the neighbourhood of the South Sudanese capital's international airport, an industrial complex would be constructed and equipped to process local agricultural products. Around the same time, an Egyptian politician, Saad Katatni, the chairman of the Freedom and Justice Party, visited Khartoum and called for utilising each and every existing opportunity to bolster economic relations, trade and investments between Cairo and Khartoum. Viewed in terms of their long-term implications, the five agreements concluded with Juba point to post-Revolution Egypt's potential for undertaking an influential mission of promoting peace, development and co-operation in the neighbourhood. Once the transition to democracy is accomplished here and the domestic situation stabilises, Egypt would be more capable than ever of turning that undertaking from a mere potential into increasing realities on the ground. It should not go unnoticed that these five agreements imply as well that Egypt's relations with countries of the African neighbourhood are not driven and shaped only by Nile River water sharing issues and rows. Egypt's ties with that region and in fact with the rest of Africa date back to times earlier than the break-out of such rows. The point now is one of investing geopolitical factors as assets for the furtherance of peace and mutual understanding. For such is the 21st century's political echosystem of choice for true advancement of human societies however different they may be in their social and cultural values. Emanating from this premise, the issue of boosting Arab investments in Africa's newest and 54th country requires special consideration. By concluding those five agreements with Juba, Egypt effectively have drawn wide attention to the potentials of developmental action in South Sudan. A third Afro-Arab summit is scheduled to convene later this year, and it could provide a serious forum to encourage the flow of Arab investments to South Sudan in addition to laying solid groundwork for the settlement of disputes that are still hanging between Khartoum and Juba. A drive by the Afro-Arab summit in these two directions would indeed be a huge service done to the cause of peace and development in the African neighbourhood.
