During his term, Sharaf created a new office: the deputy foreign minister for African affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in order to support the political atmosphere in Egypt to expand cooperation with African countries in various fields in an attempt to cure problems and tension in the Egyptian-African relations. Sharaf visited Ethiopia which resulted in Ethiopia announcing "new page" with Egypt on the Nile to ask a different kind of dialogue and cooperation, away from the previous round, which saw a tension between the two countries on the rights and uses in the waters of the Nile. Sharaf visited Sudan and agreed during this visit that Sudan was to plant 100 thousand acres in the Sudan as a first stage up to one million acres, to achieve food security for both Egypt and Sudan.
