Sudan's Foreign Policy & the Season of Migration to Africa
18 November, 2015KHARTOUM (SUDANOW)—Paschal Nguye, a Tanzanian Safari tourist guide, believes that it will be beneficial to both the Sudan and the East African Community (EAC) if the former has joined the latter.
"If I become a president for one day, I will do my best to have the Sudan join the East African group of nations before the elapse of my tenure," said Nguye, 65, who, before going into retirement and becoming a safari guide with Tanzanian private companies, was a lecturer in the African Wildlife Faculty in Arusha region.
"The Sudan is an important country with multiple resources and joining the East African Community will strengthen its position and will lead to a vital integration that will strengthen all countries of the region," Nguye said.
He wondered about the reasons for preventing the Sudan from joining the Community while it is the biggest and most powerful nation of the region, let alone its geographical position. He shook his head mumbling "politics" as if he found an answer for his question, further wondering why the politicians could not realize this matter.
The EAC consists of Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda with its seat in Arusha, Tanzania; it was established in 1967 but could not survive long due to the developments in the region. However, it was re-established on 30 November 1999 and it concluded a treaty providing for formation of an economic and political union of the member states. That treaty came into force on 7 July 2000 after endorsement by the original members of Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda and by Rwanda and Burundi which joined the EAC on 18 June 2007.
EAC aims at widening cooperation among the member states in the political, economic and social fields for their mutual benefits. It also aims at building a larger regional economic bloc of the five countries the populations of which exceed 125 million together. The Community established a customs union in 2005 and plans to set up a common market, then have a unitary currency and ultimately form a political union of East African countries.
Ugandan journalist colleague Kenneth Agutamba politely remarked: "Numerous African countries have problems with the Sudan". From this remark I took it that he was implying that the Arab Sudan antagonizes and quarrels with its African neighbors and irrespectively initiates animosities with them.
I told him that my opinion, which is shared by others, is that the Sudan is situated in the heart of Africa, south of the Sahara, stretches eastwards up to the Red Sea on an 800-km coast, neighboring nine countries – Egypt and Libya in the north, Kenya, Ethiopia and Eritrea in the east, Chad and Central Africa in the west, Uganda, Zaire and Congo (before the secession of South Sudan) in the south while its eastern border lies on the Red Sea, overlooking the Arab Peninsula.
The country's geographic position, in addition to the composition of its population and its Arab and African culture made it imperative upon it to establish, from the beginning and after its independence, to establish close relations with the Arab countries as well as the African countries, particularly the neighboring ones. It quickly joined the Arab League as well as the Organization of African Unity (OAU) soon upon its foundation in 1963.
The Sudanese foreign policy, I went telling my Ugandan colleague, first concentrated on the country's ties with the Arab countries as it joined the Arab League on 19 January 1956, the year of its independence from the British colonization, underling its Arab affiliation and its belief in the principles contained in the Arab League convention, including the joint Arab action and cooperation in various fields.
The Sudan's deep involvement in the Arab issues and the influence of the Palestinian cause and other regional Arab questions on it, made the country's relations with all African countries suffer weakness and inability to move forward.
According to reports by the Central Bank of Sudan, the Arab countries are the second partner in the Sudan's external trade as they received 33.8% of the country's exports in 1997, while 25.4% of the Sudan's imports came from Arab countries during the same year.
In contrast, the Sudan's foreign trade with the African countries for long remained in decline or semi-non-existent and was referred to column "other countries" in the Bank of Sudan records as it was little and fluctuating, though some improvement has occurred with an increase in purchases by a number of African countries, including Ethiopia, Eritrea and Kenya, as part of the Common Market of East and Southern Africa (COMESA).
Although it is expected to be advantageous in the Sudan's Arab, African, regional and international relations, the country's geographic position constitutes a focus of conflicts as most of its borders with the neighboring countries were inherited from the colonialist powers. This situation had both negative and positive impacts on the Sudan's relations with those countries, particularly with regard to the issue of borders with Egypt (Halayb), Kenya (Alembe triangle), Ethiopia and Chad. The Sudan's relations worsened to the point of near explosion and brink of armed conflict with those countries.
Political science teacher in Azhary University Ikram Mohamed Salih Hamid Dagash said that during 1989-2007 the Sudan's relationship with most of the African countries, especially the neighboring ones, was adversely affected by the escalating war in the South and the hostile Western media campaigns coupled with fears among those countries from the ideological (Islamic) leaning of the Ingaz government. This situation strengthened the position of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), the other party in the civil war.
However, there are questions hanging around about whether the Sudan contemplates specific objectives of what it wants from its Arab and African neighbors or whether its own problems confuse its decision-making and do not provide it with an opportunity to ponder priorities of its external relations.
Is it expected that the overlap of regional arrangements of the Sudan would lead to weakening the country's relationship with one party against another? And are the Sudan's diverse identities and regional arrangements with the countries in favor of one country against the other? Is the Sudan compelled to take a specific option, or can it widen its relations to include all parties?
A recent press statement by Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour about plans by the Sudan to occupy its natural position in Africa may be conveying positive answers to questions on the country's external relations.
In that statement, Prof. Ghandour said: "The Sudan's image in Africa was largely marred, especially during the war in the south, one instance we are called Arabs killing the Africans, at another instance we are branded as Muslims killing Christians and non-Muslims and yet at a third instance we are considered extremist Muslims killing moderate Muslims."
Everyone who has worked in Africa, "like me", must have noticed this distorted image, Ghandour saying, adding that although this image has improved to some extent in the past years as can be seen in the African support to the Sudan, some distortion still exists in the minds of some Africans, though possibly not in the minds of the leaders, but such an image, which took long years to be painted, needs strenuous efforts to be improved to enable the Sudan to occupy its right place in the Continent where the Sudan has supported many African liberation movements and peoples.
Judging from those conclusions and the Foreign Minister's expectations, one can presume that there is nothing that may hinder the promotion of the Sudan's relations with all Arab and African countries.
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