Sudan wishes to strengthen their relations with Brazil, especially in the foods and oil sectors. The statement is by the Sudanese ambassador in Brasilia, Rahmatullah Muhammad Osman, who is in the city of Curitiba for the 8th Conference of the Parties on Biological Diversity.Sudan has great interest in strengthening their trade relations with Brazil, especially in the fields of oil and foodstuff. The information is by the country's ambassador in Brazilian capital Brasilia, Rahmatullah Muhammad Osman. During the first two months this year, bilateral trade reached US$ 75 million, a lot above last year's total, which was of US$ 69.4 million.
Osman came to Curitiba, in the southern Brazilian state of Paraná, to organise the participation of the Sudanese minister of Environment, Ahmad Babker Nahar, in the 8th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversification (COP8). The event, promoted by the United Nations Organisation (UN), started on the 20th this month, and ends on the 31st and counts on the participation of officials and specialists in environment in many Arab countries. As well as Sudan, there are representatives from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait, Yemen and Algeria.
The ambassador feels that there are good perspectives for improving the relations between Brazil and Sudan. The country launched recently a programme for attracting foreign investments which foresees, amongst other benefits, a 10 year grace period for tax payment and exemption in tariffs when importing machinery. Brazilian entrepreneurs will be able to benefit from these measures.
According to the diplomat, a greater mutual interest can already be felt. "There is a lot of exchange between the two countries," he adds, referring to the committees that cross the Atlantic to detect investment and cooperation opportunities. Osman recalls that Sudan went through a civil war that lasted 22 years and thus, due to this, has great needs, as well as opportunities to offer.
The country has a daily oil production of 500,000 barrels, which should reach 1 million up to the end of 2008. Oil company Petrobras, according to the ambassador, may help in this effort. The Sudanese oil is exploited in the continent and the state-owned Brazilian company has, according to him, the best technology in offshore oil exploitation. Looking to carry this partnership through, three months after starting in Brasilia, Osman met with the Petrobras president, Luiz Eduardo Dutra. A visit by the company's president to Sudan should take place soon.
Another segment in which cooperation between the two countries is being established is of agriculture. The African country, known as "The Barn of the Arab World", is a great cotton producer, has a large herd of sheep and cattle and is the greatest world producer of gum Arabic, accounting for 80% of the product's supply. They also have great gold reserves, especially in the north, where the oil fields are located.
The relationship between Brazil and Sudan is growing, especially after the embassy's installation in Brasilia, two years ago. "Considering this short period of time, we are doing very well," observes the ambassador. Diplomatic relations between the two nations have existed for a long time, but were managed from an office in New York. A new boost happened as of May last year, when the summit for South American and Arab countries took place in Brasilia, tells Osman.
Source: Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce
