Cairo, Egypt - Egypt's Permier, Essam Sharaf, will Sunday begin a three-day visit to Khartoum, the capital of North Sudan, and Juba, South Sudan, his first official trip abroad after taking office. The visit is seen as an indication of Egypt's desire to strengthen ties with its Arab and African brothers, and a testimony to Egypt's historic relations with its southern neighbours. North Sudan President Omar Al-Beshir was also the first Arab and African leader to visit Egypt after the success of the revolution that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak and his corrupt regime, where Beshir met with members of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces in Egypt, running the affairs of the country since the overthrow of Mubarak on 11 February.

Sharaf was appointed by the Army to lead the transitional cabinet following the request of the leaders of the 25 January revolution.

Sharaf is to meet with top officials in North and South Sudan with a view to enhancing political and economic cooperation between Cairo, Khartoum and Juba.

The Egyptian Premier is to unveil the implementation of a number of key joint development projects, and stress the need for further boosting social ties between Egyptians and the people of north and southern Sudan .

Several Egyptian companies will also explore the possibilities of establishing new projects in Khartoum and Juba in the fields of generating electricity, roads infrastructure, and the building of modern hospitals there.

Work on the Jongley canal project is also expected to receive new funding and additional investment, to help in the optimization of the use of the precious Nile Waters.

Pana 27/03/2011