Sudanese president ends official visit to Kuwait
Kuwait, Sudan share views on regional issues: Sudanese FM
Sudanese President Omar Hasan AlBashir and his accompanying delegation left Kuwait yesterday, ending an official visit to the country. He was seen off at the airport by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, National Assembly Speaker Marzouq AlGhanem, His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled Al-Hamad AlSabah, Deputy Minister of the Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah, Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah, in addition to other officials from the state, the army, the police, and Kuwait National Guard (KNG).
Prior to his departure, President Bashir received in his residence at Bayan Palace Executive Director of the General Reserve Sector at Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) Bader Al-Ajeel, Director General of the Kuwait Economic Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) Abdulwahab Al-Bader and Director of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD) Abdullatif Yousef Al-Hamad. Head of the honorary delegation and Advisor at the Amiri Diwan Khaled Al-Fuleij attended the meetings.
Sudan and Kuwait share similar views on issues pertaining to the Middle East and North Africa, said Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour. In an exclusive interview on the sideline of the Sudanese President’s official visit, Ghandour said that the meeting between Sudan’s leader and His Highness the Amir 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.
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.
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 Kuwait.
Sudan-Egypt relationship
In the meantime, Ghandour described the Egyptian-Sudanese relationship as a twin that cannot be separated due to occasional strains in the bilateral ties, adding that such strains have been tackled due to wisdom of the top leaders, Bashir and Abdel Fattah AlSisi of Egypt.
Minister Ghandour further indicated 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 AlNahdah 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.” —KUNA