Egypt and Sudan's new trade agreement comes with territorial dispute

Egypt and Sudan are planning to make an "Economic Integration Zone" on the borders of the two countries including Halayeb and Shalateen, Egypt's foreign ministry spokesperson Badr Abdel Ati told Ahram Online.

He added that Halayeb and Shalateen are two Egyptian cities and that this is not negotiable with the Sudanese.

There has been an ongoing dispute over the sovereignty of the two cities. An independent Sudanese website, the Sudan Tribune, said on Sunday that the Sudan National Elections Commission (NEC) intends to finalise the delineation of geographical constituencies for the 2015 elections by mid-September and revealed that the contested regions will be included

"We don’t have a clear vision yet about this integration zone and we haven’t communicated with Sudanese officials," stressed Abdel Ati.