Sudan, Qatar sign six co-op agreements

KHARTOUM - Sudan and Qatar have signed six cooperation agreements and memorandum at the conclusion of the Sudanese-Qatari Economic Forum, Khartoum's Al Ray Al A'm daily reported Monday.

The agreements included the establishment of the joint Sudanese- Qatari Business Council, a memorandum of understanding in the field of mining between the Sudanese Ministry of Minerals and Qatar Mining Company, a banking cooperation agreement, an agreement between the Sudanese Ministry of Agriculture and Hasad Company of Qatar, a cooperation agreement between Ajial Medical Company of Sudan and Qatari Company for Medical solutions, and a memorandum of understanding between the Sudanese committee entrusted with public utilities and Hasad Agricultural Company of Qatar.

Sudan and Qatar further agreed to upgrade their joint ministerial committee to a higher level, to be co-chaired by the Sudanese First Vice-President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha and the Qatari Crown Prince Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to care for the two countries' ties, said the report.

Meanwhile, the Sudanese-Qatari economic forum called in its recommendations for reactivating the role of the Sudanese-Qatari business council to follow up the implementation of joint projects, the formation of a joint committee to follow up the performance of the investment projects, and studying a number of new projects and implement them.

The forum also urged the importance of building real partnerships between public and private sectors in the two countries in various investment fields, focusing on infrastructure projects and rehabilitating the standing ones, particularly in domains of electricity and sanitation because of their importance to the investment climate.

The Qatari Crown Prince Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani visited Khartoum on Sunday where he participated in the Sudanese-Qatari economic forum and inaugurated a number of Qatari projects in Sudan.

According to official Sudanese statistics, the approved Qatari investments in Sudan amounted to 23 projects in different sectors, totaling $1.7 billion.