Egypt welcomes oil deal in Sudan

Egypt welcomed the signing of a deal between Sudan and South Sudan for resuming the flow of southern oil exports through pipelines in Sudan within two weeks. "Egypt sees this as a great development for achieving genuine peace and prosperty for the two peoples of Sudan and South Sudan," Saber Mansour, Assistant Foreign Minister for Sundanese Affairs, said. Mansour asserted Egypt's support for ongoing efforts by the African Union to achieve peace between both countries. South Sudan and Sudan have agreed to resume pumping oil after a bitter dispute over fees which saw production shut down more than a year ago. An African Union mediator announced the deal on Tuesday, which resumes trade between the two countries after Juba shut down its 350,000 barrel-per-day output in January last year in a dispute with Khartoum over fees. South Sudan will begin oil production again by March 24, under the deal negotiated in Ethiopia.