Kuwait & Sudan share views on issues of MENA region: minister
‘Meeting between Al-Bashir, HH Amir was important’
KUWAIT CITY, April 12, (KUNA): Sudan and the State of Kuwait share similar views on issues pertaining to the Middle East and North Africa, said Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour Wednesday.
In an exclusive interview with KUNA on the sideline of the official visit by Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir to Kuwait, Ghandour said that the meeting between Sudan’s leader and His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah was important to coordinate political and diplomatic efforts.
Issues such as the Kuwaiti investments in Sudan and the food security initiative by the Arab League were amongst the chief topics discussed by the top officials, said Ghandour who affirmed that His Highness Sheikh Sabah and President Al-Bashir both expressed their satisfaction with the current level of cooperation and expressed desires to further boost ties on all possible levels.
Views
Discussions between the two prominent leaders touched on the recent situations in Syria, Libya, Somalia, Iraq, occupied Palestine, and Yemen, said the foreign minister, adding that Kuwait and Sudan shared similar views on how to tackle the problematic developments in each respective Arab country.
On Yemen, Syria, Libya, and Iraq, Ghandour called for finding measures to bring peace and security to the troubled Arab countries, affirming that Kuwait and Sudan will back Arab and international efforts to resolve the wars and conflicts in these regions.
On the issue of Palestine, Ghandour affirmed that this issue was the most prominent struggle in the world, calling on the international community to aid Palestinian efforts to establish an independent country with East Jerusalem as its capital.
He also touched on the national reconciliation process in Sudan, saying that the process was heading in the right direction via the involvement of the UN and AU.
However, international sanctions might prove to be an obstacle in Sudan’s path for peace and security, said the foreign minister who called on the world to be just when addressing matters connected with his country.
Meanwhile, the Sudanese foreign minister took the chance to thank the Kuwaiti leadership for its endless support to his country, noting that the projects developed by Kuwait in eastern Sudan were evident of the Kuwaiti interest in the welfare of the fellow Arab country.
Support
Sudan has prepared a list of 220 projects for development of which 79 ones were good to go, said Ghandour who hoped that Kuwait would participate in providing support to these ventures.
The foreign minister commended the GCC efforts in his country, saying that the Gulf countries showcased their interest in the development of Sudan during their participation in the East Sudan development and reconstruction conference which was held in Kuwait.
Meanwhile, Sudanese Foreign Minister Ghandour on Wednesday described the Egyptian-Sudanese relationship as a twin that cannot be separated due to occasional strains in the bilateral ties.
In a statement to KUNA, during the just concluded visit to the country by Al-Bashir, the foreign minister indicated that such strains have been tackled due to wisdom of the top leaders, Al-Bashir and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt. Minister Ghandour has added that he coordinates with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukry on implementing guidelines by the top leaders, however he has blamed some media for causing such recurring jitters in the close bonds between the two neighboring nations.
He has acknowledged that Cairo
and Khartoum have some differences over the border town of Halayeb and has denied reports suggesting that Khartoum is not standing firmly with Cairo over the
issue of the Nile waters, namely the Ethiopian dam question.
“We in Sudan are convinced that Al-Nahdah dam in Ethiopia does not affect Egypt’s water
share,” he has said. “We take into consideration Egypt’s water security but at the time we have interests where the brothers in Egypt should care about.”