Bir Tawil (TPWorld)

Bir Tawil, officially the Constitutional State of Bir Tawil is a partially recognised state spanning 2,060 km2. Bordering both Egypt and Sudan,the length of its northern and southern borders are 95 kilometres (59 mi) and 46 kilometres (29 mi) respectively; the length of its eastern and western borders are 26 kilometres (16 mi) and 49 kilometres (30 mi) respectively.
Bir Tawil was, for most of its' history completely uninhabited, except for transient populations, such as the Ababda and Bishari tribes. 
== History ==
On 19 January 1899, an agreement between the United Kingdom and Egypt relating to the administration of Sudan defined "Soudan" as the "territories south of the 22nd parallel of latitude". It contained a provision that would give Egypt control of the Red Sea port of Suakin, but an amendment on 10 July 1899 gave Suakin to Sudan instead. On 4 November 1902, the UK drew a separate "administrative boundary", intended to reflect the actual use of the land by the tribes in the region. Bir Tawil was grazing land used by the Ababda tribe based near Aswan, and thus was placed under Egyptian administration from Cairo. Similarly, the Hala'ib Triangle to the northeast was placed under the British governor of Sudan, because its inhabitants were culturally closer to Khartoum. Egypt claims the original border from 1899, the 22nd parallel, which would place the Hala'ib Triangle within Egypt and the Bir Tawil area within Sudan. Sudan, however, claims the administrative border of 1902, which would put Hala'ib within Sudan, and Bir Tawil within Egypt. As a result, both states claim Hala'ib and neither claims the much less valuable Bir Tawil area, which is only a tenth the size, and has no permanent settlements or access to the sea. There is no basis in international law for either Sudan or Egypt to claim both territories, and neither nation is willing to cede Hala'ib. With no third state claiming the neglected area, Bir Tawil was, until 2033 one of the few land areas of the world not claimed by any recognised state.
While Bir Tawil was an unclaimed territory, a number of individuals and organizations attempted to claim Bir Tawil as a micronation. None were taken seriously by the international community, however, and due to the remoteness and hostile climate of the region, the vast majority of these claims were declarations posted online from other locations. None of these claims, or any others, were recognized, officially or otherwise, by any government or international organization. On 2 January 2032, Tom Jenkins, a British engineer, also made a claim to Bir Tawil. Initially, Jenkins, too, had been one of the many individuals claiming Bir Tawil as a micronation. However, Jenkins saw the potential to create an actual country. On the 4th April 2033, Jenkins created a form for other individuals interested in coming with him to live in Bir Tawil. By the time of the form submission deadline, 4 May 2033, approximately 290 individuals had agreed to come with Jenkins. Jenkins started a GoFundMe page, to buy resources for settling in Bir Tawil, and, by 31 August 2033 managed to raise over £50,000 from it, and donations from the individuals going with him to Bir Tawil. On the 1st September 2033, Jenkins and his group of interested individuals traveled to Cairo by plane, and drove to Bir Tawil, along with resources Jenkins had purchased, including seeds, construction equipment and solar panels. The first settlement of Bir Tawil was created on the 2nd September 2033, on Gabal Hagar El Zarqa, the highest point of Bir Tawil. On the day, Jenkins declared the creation of the Independent State of Bir Tawil. Over the course of the next 5 years, Bir Tawil began to grow, with the construction of the first city, El-Zarqa, near Gabal Hagar El Zarqa, and a slight increase in population. Bir Tawil also grew economically, with the export of solar energy being the country's main export, bringing in money used to finance greenhouses for growing crops, and, construction materials. In 2038, the population of Bir Tawil was 586. 
By January 2043, the country was making large amounts of money from solar energy, and completely self-sufficient for food and water. The city of El-Zarqa had been reformed, with a small number of cars in the streets, and top quality housing. On 24 March 2043, the country hit a population of 1,000 - and on 22 December of the same year, Bir Tawil hit a population of 1,500. This rapid population growth caused both Egypt and Sudan to claim Bir Tawil as part of their country, Egypt making the claim on 29 December 2043, and Sudan on the 14 January. Jenkins, who was Prime Minister at the time, affirmed the country's position as an independent nation on 20 January 2044. Tensions continued to rise, and, on the 26 March, Egypt threatened to invade Bir Tawil. Jenkins, on the 27 March, appealed for the United Nations (UN) for help. However, since the international reputation of Bir Tawil was very low at the time, since the country was inhabited by European settlers, not locals, and had been criticised for making it difficult for tribes to pass through the region. In response, Jenkins, as Prime Minister, vowed to bring in Egyptians and Sudanese living in extreme poverty, and give them a new chance at life in Bir Tawil, and, to give up government to allow the new citizens to govern themselves, and also to make it easier for tribes to pass through. Following this, construction began for a new city, close to Wadi Tawil, named Khawr, with foreign migrant workers being brought in temporarily. On 1 July 2045, construction for the city of Khawr was completed, and the process of bringing in 20,000 Egyptians and Sudanese began. Following this, the UN admitted Bir Tawil as an Observer. On 12 August 2045, the Arab Republic of Palestine became the first, and to this date, only member of the United Nations to recognise Bir Tawil. Bir Tawil passed legislation allowing for easier passage of local tribes through the country on 14 November 2045. Construction for a new city, Jabal, began on 1 January 2046, finished on the 14th January 2049. On 1 May 2046, the Independent State of Bir Tawil officially became the Constitutional State of Bir Tawil, under local governance. The interim government, led by Jenkins, held a referendum on Thursday 10 May 2046, which saw the new citizens vote for the new constitution, flag, anthem and national seal. the result saw the country become a presidential republic. Elections were scheduled for Thursday 9 May 2047, which elected the first ever House of Representatives, and President, succeeding the Administrator-General and National Assembly.
Currently, Bir Tawil's main export is solar energy. The current president is Mohamed Saad, and the Prime Minister Abdo Ibrahim.
Category:TPWorld