|
Sudan
Libya
Sudan's relations with Libya, its neighbor on the northwest,
alternated between extreme hostility and cordiality throughout
the 1980s. Nimeiri and Libyan leader Muammar al Qadhafi were especially
antagonistic toward each other. Nimeiri permitted the Libyan National
Salvation Front to broadcast anti-Qadhafi diatribes from radio
transmitters located in Sudan. The Libyan government responded
by training anti-Nimeiri opposition forces in Libya and providing
financial and material support to the SPLM. Repairing relations
with Libya has been a goal of the transitional, parliamentary,
and military governments since 1985. The Sadiq al Mahdi government
permitted Libya to station some of its military forces in Darfur,
from whence they assisted Chadian rebels in carrying out raids
against government forces in Chad. The expanding relations between
Sudan and Libya were not viewed favorably in Cairo, and in 1988,
apparently in response to pressures from Egypt and the United
States, the Sudanese government requested a withdrawal of the
Libyan forces.
Relations with Libya expanded again after the June 1989 coup.
Khartoum and Tripoli both expressed interest in an eventual unification
of their nations. In July 1990, the Libyan-Sudanese joint General
Peoples' Committee held its first meeting, and the Councils of
Ministers of the two countries met in a combined session. Although
a unity agreement was negotiated in 1990, the chief result of
these meetings was not political union but greater economic cooperation.
Libya and Sudan signed a trade and development protocol that provided,
among other things, for Libyan investment in agricultural projects
in exchange for guaranteed access to Sudanese food supplies. The
two countries also agreed to form a working committee to draft
plans for easing travel restrictions between Darfur and the Al
Khalij area on the Libyan side of the border. Later in 1990, Qadhafi
made an official state visit to Khartoum. Although the Libyan
leader expressed satisfaction with the progress made in relations
between the two countries, he also lectured the RCC-NS on the
inappropriateness of its close ties to the NIF.
Data as of June 1991
|
