KHARTOUM, Sudan

Sudan’s ruling Sovereign Council on Sunday reiterated keenness to strengthen cooperation with Turkiye. 

Council member Abdul-Baqi Abdul-Qadir Al-Zubair met Sunday in the capital Khartoum with Turkish Ambassador Irfan Neziroglu.

During the meeting, Al-Zubair hailed the depth of relations between Sudan and Turkiye in all fields, according to a statement issued by the Sovereign Council.

“Sudan is keen on creating a safe environment to attract foreign investments to serve the interests of the two countries,” he added.

Neziroglu, for her part, underlined keenness of the Turkish private sector to carry out joint projects between the two countries.

The envoy said Sunday’s meeting highlighted the development of bilateral relations, and promoting cooperation in the health, education and environmental fields.

Relations between Ankara and Khartoum have been developing since Turkiye’s Justice and Development (AK) Party came to power in late 2002, when it developed an ambitious plan to strengthen ties with African countries.

Bilateral ties also gained momentum with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s December 2017 visit to Sudan, when the two countries signed 22 agreements in a host of fields.

The agreements cover cooperation in the fields of education, agriculture, industry, trade, the iron and steel industry, exploration, energy exploration, gold extraction, the construction of silos, healthcare services, and power generation.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar