Sudanese minister eyes $10B trade volume with Turkey

By Bahattin Gonultas

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) - Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ahmed Abdulaziz Ghandour said Tuesday increasing bilateral trade volume between Turkey and Sudan to $10 billion within five years is not a dream.

"This is a strategy that both countries will work for," Ghandour said, speaking exclusively to Anadolu Agency.

He said the visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and a delegation of businesspeople and officials to Sudan had not only strengthened existing ties between the two countries -- but had marked the beginning of a new page.

Ghandour said that ministers from both countries would closely monitor progress on the $10 billion target.

He stated that Sudan provides a number of opportunities for Turkish businesspeople.

"The country has got magnificent resources in agriculture, water, land, livestock, minerals, oil and gas. You name it and you will find it.

"It is neighboring a 600-million population of COMESA [Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa]. Sudan is a country with very high potential," Ghandour said.

Erdogan said on Sunday that appropriate steps had to be taken in order to raise the trade volume to $1 billion and then to $10 billion.

The current trade volume between Turkey and Sudan stands at nearly $500 million, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).

Turkey's exports to Sudan amounted to $328.5 million in Jan.-Oct. 2017, while imports from the country stood at $78.3 million.