Deep understanding of Sudanese -Egyptian relations – a national murmur – ✍️ Dr Tariq Ashari
Sudanese relations -Egyptian are among the most complex and most intertwined relationships in the region, not because they are based on the political equations that pass, but rather because they are based on a long historical heritage and geographic and cultural links which do it more as a “relationship of destiny” between two peoples and two people.
Geography itself strongly imposes the relationship between the two countries; Their wild borders and the Nile, which crosses their land to give them life, make the stability of one of them a condition prior to another insurance. The Nile is not only a river, but rather an artery which connects the Khartoum to Cairo, and connects the fate of the two peoples with a water line.
Thousands of years ago, Sudan and Egypt have remained an intertwined unit of civilization, from the time of the Pharaohs to the Nubian kingdoms, then periods of Turkish domination -Egyptian, up to the moments of cooperation and unity in modern times. Despite the succession of differences, this historic thread, which still remembers, has not always been interrupted that what collects the two peoples is deeper than any political dispute.
Egypt considers Sudan as a strategic depth of its national security, while Sudan considers in Egypt a strong neighbor who cannot be ignored in the equations of the region. This mutual perception has sometimes brought the relationship between cooperation and apprehension to other moments, especially when sensitive problems such as Halayeb and Shalateen or the Renaissance dam.
Despite the complexities of politics, the two peoples continued without interruption. Education, art, immigration and family relationships have woven that is difficult to dismantle. The Sudanese in Cairo feel like in its second homeland, and the Egyptian in Khartoum finds the same social warmth. These popular links are always stronger than fluctuations in official positions.
Sudan has a huge agricultural wealth that qualifies them to be a food basket for the region, while Egypt has industrial experience and an infrastructure that can benefit Sudan. Economic cooperation is therefore not a luxury, but rather a necessity imposed by the needs of the two peoples, in particular in the light of current crises.
Today, with the internal war of Sudan and difficult circumstances, Egypt finds itself a pivotal player in the Sudanese file, due to geographic proximity and direct impact. However, the future of the relationship depends on the extent of respect for the club and sovereignty, and transcends the operating mentality to the state of mind of the partnership.
The in-depth understanding of Sudanese-Egyptian relations reveals that it is not a transitional relationship that can be rejected, but rather a historical and geographic inevitability. The greatest challenge lies in the conversion of this inevitability of a source of tension in strength, so that the relationship becomes a model of integration and stability, there is no square for conflicts and disputes.
Despite the complexities of history and the intertwining of interests between Sudan and Egypt, an in -depth understanding of relations between the two countries obliges us to overcome the superficiality of slogans and close political intersections, and to enter the essence of links that bring the two peoples through the Nile and the common destination. The future is not built on the past alone, but rather a conscious vision that realizes that national, economic and social security for the two countries is difficult to separate. Consequently, the investment of this relationship is based on the foundations of homologists, mutual respect and real integration, is the only way to transform challenges into opportunities and to build a firm partnership capable of maintaining the volatility of politics and the region, so that the Sudanese-Egyptian relationship remains a pillar of stability in the Nile Valley and a lighthouse to cooperate in its Arab and African surroundings.
The strategic understanding of Sudanese-Egyptian relations is based on the basis that each party represents an extension of the other: security, water, economically and politically. Consequently, the construction of a score partnership based on mutual respect and common interests is the only way to overcome tensions and transform the relationship of hostage into crises to a common regional power.
