Sudanese-Egyptian economic integration… Is it a time??

Report: Nahid Oshi

The dream of integration between Sudan and Egypt remains a balancing force to restore the eternal relations between the two countries and direct them to distant horizons so that Sudan’s tremendous resources are integrated into the Egyptian expertise to produce economic benefits for the two brotherly peoples.

The desires to activate the integration charter between the two countries – which was signed on October 12, 1982 – came to the fore following the outbreak of war in Sudan in April 2023. The war devastated everything in Sudan, while Egypt is going through a dangerous economic turning point in light of the high inflation rates, the high cost of living for the Egyptian citizen, and the high rates of Egyptian external debt, which amounted to “160.6” billion dollars in last March. This war raised the importance of activating economic integration in order to speed up the process of building and construction in Sudan and at the same time increase the income rates of the Egyptian state, which is looking for new real resources to revitalize the Egyptian economy away from the debt holocaust. The Integration between the two countries under these circumstances is based on mutual benefit and on a win-win situation.

War Losses

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Sudanese-Egyptian Integration Center, Dr. Adil Abdel-Aziz, revealed that the total tangible losses of the various economic sectors due to the war in Sudan, estimated at (108.8) billion dollars. He believes that the huge losses that afflicted the Sudan economy requires great external assistance to be compensated and reconstructed, Egypt is the most qualified country to extend such assistance.

Population increase

Dr. Abdal-Aziz says that the second reason for the inevitability of partnerships and integration is the high rates of population increase in Egypt.
Egypt consumes 20 million tons of wheat annually, of which it produces 7 million tons, and needs to import 13 million tons of wheat from abroad, making it the largest wheat importing country in the world.
Sudan can cover Egypt’s need for this commodity.
The third reason for the strategic partnership is that Sudan possesses enormous economic resources such as fertile agricultural lands free of impediments and mineral resources.

Restructuring integration

For his part, the Head of the Egyptian-African Businessmen Association, Dr. Yusri Al-Shargawi, stresses the importance of Egyptian-Sudanese economic integration, and said that now, in light of the war, we stress the importance of working hard to contain the scene in Sudan and trying to link the remaining mechanisms, axes and files at the governmental and private levels to establish a basic infrastructure that starts from Cairo and is adopted by business organizations, civil society and the private sector. Al-Shargawi notifies the importance of building on what was previously mentioned in re-implementing the Four Freedoms Agreements between the two countries.

“Think Outside the Box”

The Head of the Sudanese-Egyptian Economic Integration Group, Dr. Al-Fatih Yousuf, follows the same approach presented by Al-Shargawi and stresses the importance of economic integration between the two countries in light of the availability of natural resources in Sudan and Egypt’s possession of technology, expertise and manpower, revealing the group’s efforts to attract businessmen and prepare for the reconstruction period through problems solution.

For his part, the Managing Director of the Economic Integration Group, Hassan Kamal El-Din, points out to the importance of changing concepts in implementing commercial and economic activities and thinking outside the box.