Sudan: Minister says oil could boost growth, integration in sub-region
Panafrican News Agency (PANA) Daily Newswire, May 30
Paris, France (PANA) - Sudan's foreign minister, Mustafa Osman Ismali, Wednesday said that the country's oil could help spur economic and political security in the East Africa sub-region once enough quantities were found.
Ismail told PANA in an interview that it was the Khartoum government's desire that once the oil was exploited in enough quantities, it should boost regional infrastructure that would in turn facilitate the mounting of co-ordinated regional food and health security structures.
The minister was in the French capital in a tour that would later extend to several other European capitals aimed at advancing European Union-Sudanese dialogue to facilitate peace in war-torn Sudan.
He said that Africa was ready to intensify co-operation through the African Union but peace was necessary to enable the positive use of the vast amounts of resources on the continent for its development.
Contrary to a widely held belief, he said Sudan was not using it's new found oil to finance its war against the rebels of the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement and its armed wing the SPLA.
"This war is more than 18 years old. We have been exporting oil for less than two years. The amount we have had (so far) from oil proceeds is very limited. So oil has nothing to do with this war," he said.
According to the minister, the oil revenue has not financed Khartoum's war efforts, otherwise the government would not be pursuing a cease-fire with the SPLA.
Ismail felt that external influence particularly from the United States was extremely crucial in getting the SPLA to accept a cease-fire.
"If they (United States) send a clear message to the SPLA telling them, "Enough is enough, we need a cease-fire," this would influence the SPLA. Concentration would then be focused on a political settlement to the crisis," he added. |
