Sudan, Chad to sign border trade protocol

December 7, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – The government of West Darfur State on Friday said it would sign an agreement to open a border trade point with Chad in mid-December.

The deputy governor of West Darfur Mohamed Biraima said a delegation from Chad’s ministries of finance and industry will arrive in his state to discuss the details of the protocol that would govern the trade transactions between the two countries.

He told the semi-official Sudan Media Center that the protocol would curb the smuggling and increase the trade revenues, saying the move would serve the interest of both nations.

Last April, the Sudanese-Chadian border development conference was held in West Darfur State capital, El-Geniena.

The two-day conference discussed a number of papers covering the economy, security, trade, social, cultural, media and sports cooperation between the two sides.

In January 2010, Sudan and Chad signed a normalization agreement ending a long history of mutual hostility in which both sides provided support to each other’s insurgents.

A joint border force has been deployed along the joint border in 2010 in line with a deal to stop support to rebel groups and cross-border attacks.

(ST)