Mubarak: we strongly stand with Sudan's unity

Egypt has stressed it stands "strongly" for Sudan's unity and efforts aiming at "fixing this policy and achieving stability in the context of a one strong country."

This was in an implicit expression on Cairo's reservations towards the peace agreement signed by the Khartoum government recently with the southern Sudan rebels. This was also expressed by Egypt, despite the repeated attempts made by the Sudanese authorities to alleviate Egyptian fears, through asserting that giving the right to self determination for southern Sudan does not means encouraging cessation.

The Egyptian foreign minister Ahmad Maher quoted President Mubarak as saying during a meeting he held on Thursday with the delegate of the Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, the Sudanese minister of information Mahdi Ibrahim, that "Egypt strongly stands with sister Sudan to achieve its stability and unity." He added that Egypt "stands with the Sudanese people in their efforts to fix this unity (in) the context of a strong Sudan that enjoys its full right and everyone harvest the yields of the national wealth."

Maher said that Mubarak "asked the Sudanese information minister to convey this clear and strong position to President al-Bashir." Ibrahim had conveyed to President Mubarak a message from the Sudanese President on the agreement signed by the Sudanese government with the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in Kenya on July 20.

Meantime, the diplomat at the Sudanese embassy in Nairobi, Osama Mahjoub Hassan, on Thursday stressed that each of the Sudanese president and southern Sudan rebels movement announced their determination to take part in the second round of negotiations which is scheduled to start on August 12 in Kenya, despite allegations made by the rebels that the government forces just few days ago launched a large scale attack that resulted in more than 1000 killings.