October 30, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan’s Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour on Sunday described China as an important partner in peace and development issues in Sudan and the region hailing the strong bilateral ties between Sudan and China.

“Relations between Sudan and China are strong and it is considered a model for South-South cooperation and the reason for the success of these relations is honesty and the firm desire to develop them” Ghandour told the official Chinese news agency Xinhua.

He stressed that China is a key partner in establishing peace in Sudan and the region, saying “we live in the East African region which suffers from a lot of problems and Sudan has a pivotal role in this region”.

“China is an economic partner for the countries in the region and it was a party to the Sudanese-Sudanese, Sudanese-African and African-African dialogue and it continued to follow up on these dialogues through its various envoys,” he added.

Ghandour pointed that Sudanese-Chinese cooperation in oil production has significantly contributed to the development of the Sudanese economy, saying the partnership between the two countries has now extended to various fields including the infrastructure.

He pointed to the Meroe Dam which was built by China, saying it has increased electricity generation more than 6 times.

Sudan’s top diplomat further said that partnership between the two sides has turned into political, social and economic partnership, saying that Sudan and China exchange support in all regional and international forums.

He said the two countries are now cooperating in the agricultural processing following the signing of a joint agreement on the model agricultural projects, pointing that Sudan, which has vast agricultural lands and water resources, could benefit from the Chinese experience in agricultural development.

Ghandour pointed that the two countries have signed a preliminary agreement to build a nuclear electric power station in Sudan besides another agreement on the renewable energy.

Beijing has invested more than $20 billion in Sudan mostly in the oil sector during the past two decades. Beijing provides low-interest loans and weapons transfers in return for oil.

During a visit by President Omer al-Bashir to China in 2015, Sudan and China signed “strategic partnership” that gave China the right to explore oil in new fields after Sudan lost 75% of its oil resources after South Sudan secession in 2011.

(ST)