Marina Sarruf, special envoy*
Brasilia – The Sudanese minister of Foreign Relations, Mustafa Osman Isamil, will sign today an agreement for scientific and technological cooperation with the Itamaraty, the Brazilian foreign office. The statement was made yesterday in a meeting with the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (CCAB) president, Antonio Sarkis Jr., parallel to the summit for South American and Arab countries.
This is the first time in history of relations between the two countries that we will sign a cooperation agreement in this area," stated Ismail. According to him, the aim of this agreement is to allow for technological cooperation between the public and private sectors in different areas. "It is a very important agreement," said the minister.
The agreement will be called ABC and according to Ismail, this partnership plans on opening new opportunities in this area between the Brazilian and Sudanese.
As well as this, Ismail spoke of the interest the Sudanese companies have in exporting and importing directly from Brazil. "In the Sudanese market you may find many Brazilian products, such as fruits and manufactured goods, however they come in through third parties, such as Dubai and Egypt. I would like these imports to made directly, hence the prices would be much lower," he stated.
According to Sarkis, this interest is also one of the main ideas of the summit. "Currently, most Brazilian products that arrive in the Arab countries pass through London, Paris and Amsterdam," he said.
The minister also spoke of attracting Brazilian investments to Sudan, mainly for a programme that aims to establish sugar mills, cement, iron and petrochemical plants. "Last month, Sudan, the World Bank and other countries signed an agreement worth US$ 5.5 billion committing to support these projects," he stated. According to him, Sudan already counts on investors from India, Pakistan, Malaysia, China and France.
The CCAB president mentioned the recent partnership with Petrobras in Libya and stated that there is interest in forming partnerships between Brazilian and Sudanese companies as well, both in the oil as in the technological areas.
"We wish to work in the sense of prospecting partnerships between the two countries for future investments in Sudan," stated Sarkis. He also said he plans on participating in fairs in the Arab country together with the Brazilian government, next year.
*Translated by Silvia Lindsey
