During his first two-day visit to Khartoum on Thursday, President Mohamed Morsy called for increased economic cooperation between Egypt and Sudan, calling on Egyptian businessmen in particular to boost their investments in the neighboring country.
Morsy is in discussions to establish a joint industrial zone in an area to be proposed by the Sudan, and which would be inspected by the Egyptian Industrial Development Authority, sources told Al-Masry Al-Youm.
There are currently 20 Egyptian companies operating in Sudan, including 12 companies in the services sector, four in the industrial sector and another four in the agricultural sector.
By contrast, 273 Sudanese companies have been in operation in Egypt since 1970, including 105 companies in the services sector, 59 in the industrial sector, 31 in the construction sector, 19 in the agricultural sector, 11 in tourism, 16 in communications and information technology and seven in financial services.
The Sudanese Investment Minister Mostafa Ismail said he expected that agreements between the two countries would be signed during Morsy's visit, which he would help to improve bilateral relations.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
