evidence: Southwest of the Halayeb triangle, on the Sudanese side of the 1899 boundary, is another territory, Bir al-Tawil, over which neither Egypt nor Sudan has asserted sovereignty. The reason for this is that Egypt’s recognition of the 1899 boundary precludes it from recognizing Bir al-Tawil as Egyptian, while Sudan’s recognition of the Fahmy boundary precludes it from recognizing Bir al-Tawil as Sudanese. A main motive for the dispute over the Halayeb triangle is that the territory is rich in natural resources, in particular manganese. Manganese is used in the iron and glass industries and as a fertilizer. An Egyptian governmental study estimated that Halayeb’s manganese reserves exceed 700,000 tons, and the state has shown an interest in exploiting them.37 Furthermore, Egypt is looking into whether oil and gas reserves are present in waters offshore from the triangle, another of the reasons behind its conflict with Sudan over the territory.38 In contrast, Bir al-Tawil is very arid and poor in resources, making it difficult for people to reside there. This explains why neither country is keen to assert sovereignty over it.