Sudan, Egypt hold talks in Khartoum on common issues

Sudanese and Egyptian leaders on Wednesday held joint talks here on the strategic issues of common concern. The talks were chaired by Sudan's First Vice-President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha and Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Qandil. "Long time has been lost for the two countries' peoples during the previous Egyptian regime and now the time has come to surpass the barriers of the past phase and translate the agreements into reality," Taha said when addressing the opening session of the talks. He said that the peoples of Sudan and Egypt have had enough of embellished words and agreements that are not implemented, reiterating that the two sides maintained the necessary political will to achieve the interests of the two peoples. Taha called for building effective and strong partnerships, as well as the movement of commodities between the two countries, and vowed support to encourage Egyptian investors in Sudan. Qandil, for his part, stressed the need of integration and cooperation of the Egyptian and Sudanese economies to overcome the current economic woes and achieve common prosperity. Qandil arrived in Khartoum on Wednesday for a two-day visit to Sudan during which he is to hold talks with senior Sudanese officials. He is accompanied by a number of ministers with the aim to reactivate the agreements between the two countries and implement what has recently been agreed upon between Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. He is also expected to attend Thursday the inauguration of a branch of the Egyptian National Bank in Khartoum as part of the two countries' endeavor to increase commercial exchange and facilitate means of common cooperation.