Sudanese President in Qatar for talks on bilateral relations

June 16, 2016 (KHARTOUM)- The Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir Thursday arrived in unannounced visit to Doha where he held talks on bilateral relations with the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani .

Al-Bashir is accompanied in his two-day visit to Doha with a high-level delegation including the ministers of Foreign Affairs and Finance.

Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour told the official news agency SUNA that al-Bashir and Tamim discussed the bilateral relations and regional issues, especially in the Arab region.

Ghandour further said the Sudanese ministers held bilateral meetings with their Qatari counterparts, where they tackled ways to improve bilateral relations.

Head of the Information Department at the Sudanese Presidency Obai Izz-al-Din said the visit of President al-Bashir to Doha during the month of Ramadan reflects the deeply-rooted ties between the two countries.

The visit is also recognition to the continuous Qatari efforts to support the peace process in Sudan, he added.

Qatar supported the peace process to end Darfur conflict and facilitated the two-year process with the armed groups that ended by the signing of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) with the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) in July 2011, and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM)-Dabajo in April 2013.

Doha which chairs the International Follow-up Committee for DDPD Implementation continue to facilitate talks with the holdout groups and seeks to bring them to join the framework document.

However, Khartoum still seeks Doha financial support to its economy and hopes to see more Qatari investments in the east African country.

The spokesperson of the Sudanese presidency said the talks will review joint coordination on regional issues, peace process and the development in Sudan.

The Qatari Ambassador to Khartoum Rashid al-Nuaimi said the visit comes in the context of the distinguished relations between Sudan and Qatar.

Al-Nuaimi has referred to the Qatari efforts to support peace in Darfur through the committee of follow-up the implementation of the Doha Peace Document besides the efforts to persuade the non-signatory movements to join the peace process.

Al-Nuaimi has described the Sudanese-Qatari relations as distinguished and witnessing big progress in terms of bilateral cooperation in the political, economic, cultural, and humanitarian fields.

On his part, the Sudanese Ambassador to Qatar, Yasir khidir, said the Sudanese-Qatari relations will discuss pushing these ties ahead, promoting the joint cooperation and coordination on all regional and international arenas.

The talks reviewed the significant Qatari investments in Sudan in areas of agriculture, mining and infrastructure, Khidir said, adding that the parties will also review the signed agreements and Qatari investments in Sudan.

Last April, Presidential Assistant Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid met in Doha with Qatari investors and called to invest in agriculture, mining, oil and tourism sectors.

Also Qatar in the past pledged to invest up to $2 billion in Sudan, including purchase of government bonds issued by the African nation. But it only received one billion.

The Qatari investments in Sudan worth 1.7 billion dollars and include, real estates, agriculture and the banking.

(ST)