On Thursday, a Sudanese delegation arrived in Turkey, led by the Vice President of the Sudan Sovereignty Council, Muhammed Hamdan Daglo, nicknamed “Hemedti”. Announcing his visit on his social media, Hemedti wrote that: “We share with Turkey historical relations and weighted interests, we look forward for more developed relations between our countries.”
According to a statement made by the Sudan Sovereignty Council, Turkey’s Khartoum Ambassador Irfan Neziroğlu presented an invitation letter from Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay to Hemedti, to visit Turkey on Wednesday, 19 May. In the statement, it was stated that Fuat Oktay’s invitation letter emphasized ways to develop bilateral relations between the two states.
During the Neziroğlu and Hemedti meeting, attention was drawn to the historical depth of the relations between the two countries and Hemedti emphasized that the doors of Sudan are open to Turkish investors today, as they were in the past. In addition, Hemedti thanked Turkey for providing financial and moral support to Sudan in many crises, especially the COVID-19 pandemic and the flood disaster that took place last year.
Turkish Ambassador Irfan Neziroğlu emphasized that Turkish entrepreneurs can strengthen their cooperation with the public and private sectors in Sudan with their qualifications. In this sense, Neziroğlu pointed out that partnerships could be established in many sectors, especially in agriculture, energy, mining, infrastructure, health and education.
Relations between Turkey and Sudan have a long history, politically and economically. Relations between the two countries have been developing especially for the last 20 years and deepening since the signing of 22 agreements and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) during the official visit of Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Sudan in December 2017. These agreements include cooperation in many areas such as health, agriculture, trade, energy, iron and steel industry and mining.
Hemedti’s visit to Turkey will be the first visit from Sudan since the fall of long-time president Omar al-Bashir from power in 2019.
