Sudan call on the Turkish businessmen to invest in Sudan
Izmir - Turkish Daily News, September 5
Sudan, which will be petroleum-rich soon, calls on Turkish businessmen to invest in Sudan, what they call 'the country of opportunities.' The business trip organized by the Aegean Region Chamber of Industry (EBSO) to Sudan, businessmen from Izmir have found the opportunity to do business with Sudanese businessmen.
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At the meeting held by the Sudan Investment and Industry Ministry, Sudanese Minister of Finance, Abdelrahim Hamdi pointed out that they needed investment in mining, paper, leather, barrage and construction. Hamdi said, "At the moment we are producing 240,000 barrels of petroleum a day, at the end of this year this figure is expected to reach 450,000 barrels. There are three untouched oil wells. We will strengthen our economy very quickly. We have problems in investment and finance and we want to solve these problems with investments. It is time to invest in Sudan."
Sudan's petroleum was discovered by China with the method of Built, Operate and Transfer (BOT). Sudan would regain the petroleum well after two years. The trade volume between Sudan and Turkey is around $60 million. Sudan's economy is mostly formed of agriculture and that 80 percent of total employment is in the agricultural sector. Sudan, which is the largest country in Africa and has a population of 30 million, has an import of $1.7 billion and has an export of over $900 million
The Chairman of EBSO, Atil Akkan also said that Sudan is a country of opportunities: "Turkish industry can sell all products to Sudan because of the quality of products. The petroleum production would reach 1 million barrels at the end of 2002, for that reason Sudan would be an important market."
Stating that Sudan's irrigable arable areas, which is the size of Turkey, were almost untouched, Akkan said for his own company, 80,000 acres of arable land were allocated: "For this land I have made two agreements. Turkey needs cotton. We import cotton. We will produce cotton here and export to Turkey and we will sell this cotton at the Forward Exchange.
EBSO executive committee member Tamer Taskin also said that the bureaucracy in Sudan has been reduced: "They have prepared an investment law, which lifts all barriers in front of investors and greatly reduces bureaucracy."
During the visit, Turkish businessmen made business deals with Sudanese businessmen and invested in salt, health, ready-to-wear, transportation and water tanks. |
