The Hindu : Kalam calls for greater Indo-Sudan cooperation

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 22, 2003

International

International - India & World

Kalam calls for greater Indo-Sudan cooperation

By Neena Vyas

KHARTOUM OCT. 21. The President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, today suggested a partnership between India and Sudan for the development of both nations by 2020. Elaborating on what India had set out to achieve in the next two decades, he said Sudan too could adopt a mission mode path for development.

Addressing the Parliament of Sudan this morning, Mr. Kalam said that India and Sudan could ``work together in building capabilities for oil exploration, refining and marketing of value-added oil-based products.''

Two developments make this offer significant. India recently acquired a 25 per cent stake by investing $760 millions in Sudan's biggest oil field and, for the first time in decades, an end to the civil strife between the Sudanese Government and the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) seems to be in sight.

In fact, Mr. Kalam's visit — the first by an Indian President in 28 years after Fakhrudin Ali Ahmed came here in 1975 — has come at a time when Sudan is at a crossroads between peace and continuing internal violence.

A peace accord is being finalised — it was to have been signed yesterday, the day Mr. Kalam landed here but is now expected to take a few more months, according to diplomatic sources here. Mr. Kalam said: ``The time has arrived for our two nations to consolidate these developments since Independence and forge stronger bonds between planning and implementation institutions, public and private of both nations, to bring prosperity, happiness and freedom from insecurity to the peoples of both the countries.''

Mr. Kalam called on the President of Sudan, Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir, this morning and held discussions with him before addressing the Parliament. Later in the day, a number of Ministers called on him, including Sudan's Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Energy. The President of Sudan hosted a dinner for Mr. Kalam at the end of the busy day.

Situated between the White Nile and the Blue Nile, the ancient city of Khartoum looks like any Indian small town. There are not many Indians here — the ONGC presence there is growing and there are some businessmen and the Embassy. Altogether, there are about 2,000 Indians in the entire country.

The first batch of Indians, mostly from Gujarat, are believed to have come here via Aden in 1864 and some Indians have taken Sudanese nationality, but almost all of them maintain strong links with families back in India.

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