Cairo Asserts Stake in Sudan Peace Talks

Egypt staked a claim to a role in Sudanese peace talks and said its aim was to see the north and south of Sudan stay together.

Sudanese President Omar Hassan Bashir met in Cairo with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, whose main concern is to protect his country’s share of the flow of the Nile, the only source of water for most of Egypt.

Sudan’s government and southern rebels are moving closer to a deal to end more than 20 years of war. But the pact is expected to give southerners a chance to break away from the Arab and Muslim north. Peace and economic development in the south could lead to increased water consumption there.