Indian president to visit Sudan on 19 October

KHARTOUM, Oct.18, 2003 (SUNA) — The Indian president, Prof A. P. J. Abdul- Kalam, is to begin an official visit to Sudan Sunday, heading a high-level delegation.

The spokesman of the ministry of foreign affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Fadul, said President Abdul-Kalam’s visit to Sudan is a landmark event in the history of the Sudanese-Indian relations in a view that it is the first ever to be paid by an Indian president to Sudan since the independence.

He explained that the Indian president will hold talks with President of the Republic Gen Umar al-Bashir focusing on the bilateral relations and cooperation between the two countries.

The Indian president will also meet the vice-president, Speaker of the National Assembly, ministers of foreign affairs and energy and mining, as well as the Indian community and the Sudanese graduates of Indian universities.

Ambassador Fadul explained that the visit of the Indian president will be a fresh impetus for the bilateral relations and would enable the two presidents exchange views on the bilateral, regional and international issues.

He said that the visit will enable the Sudanese and Indian officials to sign new agreements and protocols between the two countries at all domains, particularly the economic field, besides reactivating the implementation of the already existing agreements.