Sudan, Russia discuss military cooperation
October 28, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese Army’s Chief of General Staff Kamal Abdel-Marouf and Russia’s deputy chief of staff, Admiral Igor Osipov, have discussed military cooperation between the two countries.
Abdel-Marouf on Sunday met with the visiting Russian Admiral in the presence of Sudan’s chief of staff of the naval forces, Maj. Gen. Abdallah al-Matari al-Faradi besides the military attachés in Moscow and Khartoum.
During the meeting, Abdel-Marouf pointed to the strong relations between Sudan and Russia in all fields, stressing his country’s keenness to further those relations to serve the interests of the two peoples.
He also extended the invitation to his Russian counterpart to visit Sudan soon.
For his part, Osipov expressed his thanks and gratitude for the Sudanese officials, saying the visit allowed him to identify the areas of joint cooperation between the two countries.
He also expressed keenness to promote bilateral relations and bring it to wider horizons.
During a visit to Moscow last July to attend the 2018 World Cup Final, the Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir was met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Both leaders pledged to promote military cooperation in the near future.
The two leaders last met in November 2017 in the Russian city of Sochi, with both expressing a desire to enhance military ties.
At the time, al-Bashir offered to construct an airbase for Russia on the Red Sea coast and to re-equip the Sudanese army with the Russian weapons including SU-30 fighter jets and surface-to-air missiles.
Politically, Russia is seen as a major ally of the government of al-Bashir that faces isolation from the West. However, economic cooperation between the two countries has remained very low, with a trade balance that does not exceed $400 million.
In December 2015, Sudan and Russia signed 14 cooperation agreements in different domains, including oil, minerals and banks.
The agreements also include a concession contract between Sudan and the Russian Rus Geology to prospect for oil in Sudan’s Bloc E57 and another accord for the geological mapping of the Jebel Moya area, North Kordofan State.
(ST)