CAIRO: Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif on Sunday urged south Sudan to vote for unity in a 2011 referendum that will decide whether it becomes independent from Khartoum, a cabinet spokesman said.
Nazif reiterated Egypt s support for the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005 that ended two decades of war between north and south Sudan, hoping that it will lead to preserving Sudan s unity and territorial integrity, Magdi Radi said.
He was speaking after talks between Nazif and south Sudan leader Salva Kiir who is in Cairo on a three-day visit that includes talks with President Hosni Mubarak.
The premier did stress that Egypt would respect any choice made by the people of south Sudan regarding their future, but hoped that they would choose unity with the north, Radi said.
Kiir, who is also First Vice President of Sudan, arrived with a large delegation of southern leaders and is to meet Arab League chief Amr Moussa later on Sunday.
Sudan is due to hold general elections in 2010, the first in nearly 30 years, ahead of a referendum in 2011 to decide whether the south wants independence from Khartoum.
Kiir s visit comes amid efforts by Egypt to maintain Sudanese unity.
We have a prime interest when it comes to Sudan in maintaining its unity and territorial integrity, an Egyptian diplomat told the state-owned Al-Ahram weekly ahead of Kiir s visit. -AFP
