H.E. Mr. Khidir Haroun Ahmed

H.E. Mr. Khidir Haroun Ahmed
H.E. Mr. Khidir Haroun Ahmed

ANA: Your Excellency, given their prominent status in Asia and Africa respectively, how can India and Sudan work more closely to lend new dynamism to the South-South Cooperation, which is crucial in this age of liberalisation and globalisation?

H.E.: Sudan's GDP has never been below 6% for the last 15 years, thanks to the south-south cooperation. For strictly political reasons that have nothing to do with our economic performance, Sudan so far has never received any financial assistance from the IMF or the World Bank for more than two decades. The country has managed to develop its oil industry and to drastically upgrade its infrastructure through its cooperation with China, India, Malaysia and the Arab World. There are now over one hundred Indian companies working in Sudan. Lofty opportunities are still available for hundreds more in the mining, agricultural and industrial sectors. Luckily Sudan is currently assuming the chair of the 77 Group and is keen to boost south-south cooperation. India as an emerging power is in a position to strengthen that cooperation.

ANA: Sudan signed the pan-African e-network country agreement with India in November 2006 which aims to ensure seamless connectivity among the 53 members of the African Union. In this light, can you please share with us your views on the role of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) in changing the life of masses in developing and less developed countries?

H.E.: The project of Pan-African e-network is an example of what emerging developing countries such as India, Brazil and China could do to improve the life of the masses in the developing world. I avail myself of the opportunity to extend our thanks and gratitude to the Indian government for this vital initiative.

[expand title="Read More"]ANA: Sudan's Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports visited New Delhi to participate in the launch the India-Arab Partnership Forum in December 2008. You country is also the largest member of the Common Market for East and South Africa (COMESA) with which India has a strong tie. Given the long-standing relationship and mutual trust, how can Sudan and India help each other in strengthening economic growth? Can you please identify the areas of mutual cooperation?

H.E.: Sudan has more than 200 million acres of fertile land as well as huge resources of fresh water. India has thousands of years of experience in agriculture. Cooperation between the two countries to multiply the production of cereals would help a great deal in averting the occurrence of cycles of famines in Africa and elsewhere. There are two folds of benefits in such cooperation: profitable investment and means for realizing stability and mitigation of sources of conflicts and violence.

ANA: Major Indian exports to Sudan consist of engineering goods, ready-made garments, textile yarns, drugs/pharmaceuticals, plastics & linoleum products, rice, paper & wood products, tea / coffee, cosmetics & toiletries, rubber products and other primary products; whereas Sudan's primary exports to India encompasses raw cotton, sugar, leather, organic chemicals, raw hide and skin, as well as oil seeds and pulses. You Excellency, what are the other traditional and niche products which can be included to diversify the bilateral trade basket?

H.E.: India is our third partner in oil industry after China and Malaysia. There is a chance of developing natural gas in the Red Sea. Medical tourism is another possibility for India as it gains a good reputation in the field of health care and medical treatment. Sudan is also very rich in archaeological sites. Very few know that Sudan has more pyramids than any other country in the world. The remains of the oldest furnaces for melting iron (four thousand years ago) is just 200 km north of Khartoum. Sudan is also very rich in herbs.

ANA: In his visit to New Delhi in August 2007, Sudanese State Minister for Investment Elsimaih Elsiddig Alnour said that "Investments in Sudan from Indian companies in sectors other than oil is very minimal and didn't reflect the warmth of relation between the countries". In this backdrop, can you please shed some light on the extent of Indian investments in Sudan?

H.E.: In principle, this is true; however, the current opportunities that exist in Sudan are greater and go beyond the current Indian share of investment in the country. In that sense, the Indian share of that is really limited. Contacts between senior officials and exchanges of visits could be much more reflective to the real potentials of mutual benefits. Political weight is needed to encourage viable investment.

ANA: The bilateral relation between Sudan and India goes back to the historic time of the Nilotic and Indus Valley Civilizations. Your country hosts a very strong Indian Diaspora, whereas several thousand Sudanese students have chosen India to pursue their academic career. Your Excellency, in your opinion, how can both countries work together to enhance people-to-people interaction and boost unique socio-cultural ties?

H.E.: The historic ties bond our people since the dawn of history. A heavy traffic of scholars, journalists, artists and politicians between the two countries for the purpose of better understanding is much needed. We have been victims of unfair campaigns of disinformation. Indians should exert efforts to know the realities of Sudan rather than depending on others to do that for them.

ANA: As you are aware that Indian subcontinent is passing through a very critical time in terms of terrorism, ethnic war and growing clout of extremism. Your Excellency, how can developing countries cooperate among themselves to deal with the problem of terrorism?

H.E.: Terrorism is the plague of this age. We have no other choice but to stand together against this challenge. In addition to that, we- developed and developing nations- must cooperate to alleviate the breeding grounds of terrorism: poverty and injustices. We should teach younger generations that there is no alternative to coexistence and mutual respect. There is no room for imposing ideologies and cultures on others. We live in a global, multi-ethnic, multi-religious, and multilingual age. Our destiny is to live together side by side with mutual respect and tolerance.