Egyptian Sudan 86 And to leave no doubt about it, the coercion that rendered its existence invalid was imposed. Moreover, it is self-evident that Egypt, by virtue of international treaties and firmans that prohibit it from ceding any part of its territory, had no standing to conclude such an agreement. What further strengthens our objection to this agreement is that Egyptian interests and sentiments have been trampled upon in it, and it is beyond comprehension how a company can be formed where one party holds all the rights and the other is bound by all the obligations. While England, with its black [people] and its rule, governs those vast territories, it is Egypt that pays from its funds to cover the enormous deficit in its budget, in addition to agreeing on major works necessary for land reclamation. It has paid 350,000,000 Egyptian Pounds for railways and one million pounds for the Port Sudan [1] port. And among the wonders is that Egypt, by establishing the Port Sudan port with its own funds, created a new outlet for Sudanese trade, which would reduce the amount of benefit that Egypt derived from its trade with Sudan! Furthermore, the Egyptian army stationed in Sudan is used to subdue rebellious territories and open up new areas for the benefit of the common system, and Egypt alone naturally bears the heavy expenses necessary for this. If only I knew what benefits were gained from these sacrifices? If we ask, there is no answer. Not only this, but Egyptian officials are gradually being sidelined to make way for foreign officials in senior positions in particular, and it is not far off [1] The annual contribution from Egypt exceeds today 11 million Egyptian Pounds.