Ambassador Mohamed Abdelaal of Sudan in Seoul
Ambassador Mohamed Abdelaal of the Republic of Sudan said, “There are great opportunities for investment in different sectors in my country such as agriculture, mining, oil, animal resources and infrastructure, and we have also millions of acres of fertile lands for the production of different cash crops, like cotton, sesame, groundnut, wheat, fruits—as well as mining.”
Speaking at reception he hosted at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul on April 19, 2017 in celebration of the 40th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and Sudan, Ambassador Abdelaal added, “Sudan is now in the second place among the African countries producing and exporting gold, about 80 tons of which were produced and exported last year.” (See excerpts from the speech at the end of this report.)
The reception was attended by many important guests from the Korean government and other segments of society as well as from the Seoul Diplomatic Corps.
Among the Korean guests were Deputy Minister Lee Jeong-kyu of Foreign Affairs and the leading figures from the different sectors, including the mass communications whence was seen Publisher-Chairman Lee Kyung-sik of The Korea Post media, publisher of 3 English and 2 Korean-language media outlets.
Among other distinguished guests in attendance at the party were many foreign mission chiefs who included AmbassadorsMd. Zulfiqur Rahman of Bangladesh, Andrei Popkov of Belarus, DatoMohdRosliSabtu of Brunei Darussalam , Fernando Danus of Chile, Tito Saul PinillaPinilla of Colombia, GreciaFiodaliciaPichardo of Dominican Republic, DatoRohanabintiRamli of Malaysia, Mohamed Salim Alharthy of Oman, Raul S. Hernandez of the Philippines, Nozuko Gloria Bam of South Africa, Gonzalo Ortiz of Spain, and Mohamed Ali Nafti of Tunisia.
At the entrance of the reception hall were on display large pictures placed on a wooden stand each, which introduced various aspects of the country, including history and culture.
Excerpts from the speech of Ambassador Abdelaal:
It gives me a great pleasure to extend to you all, my sincere thanks and appreciation for honoring and joining us to celebratethis auspicious Anniversary of 40 years of official establishment of the diplomatic relationship between the Republic of the Sudan and Republic of Korea, which also coincide with the 61st Anniversary of the Independence of the Sudan. The two friendly countries mindfully and with steadfast political will, have successfully signed the agreement establishing the relationship between the two people in 1977. The Agreement culminated a long standing contacts and communications since the independence of Sudan in January 1956. Since then, the relations have tremendously grown in all political, economic and cultural fields,immediately after the Agreement came into force, a framework Agreement on Economic, Trade, Cultural and Technical Cooperation was signed, however, Korean companies started to invest in Sudan, in a large scale projects, the first one arrived to Sudan in mid seventieswasDae Woo Company, it invested in different business sectors such as automobile car tires, food oil, textile, infrastructure, and hostelry.
Following this magnificent start, the relationshave grown and many bilateral visits of the high level officialsfrom the two countries wereexchanged. Chief among them the State visits paid by former Presidents H.E. GaafarNumeiri to the Republic of Korea in 1983, and H.E. Omer Hassan Albashir in 2008.However, the relations took further deep strides after Sudan discovered oil and started exporting it to global market. Korea was one of the most important importers of the Sudanese oil. Furthermore, Korean market considers a key destination for some Sudanese products likecotton, sesame, gum Arabic. While Korean cars, Electronics,machines, pharmaceuticals are the top in the list of Korean exports to the Sudan.
In this regard, I would like to emphasize that Sudan with its numerous economic potentialities is considered as the land of Promise and Opportunities. Opportunities for investment in different sector like agriculture, mining, oil, animal resources and infrastructure, we have millions acres of fertile lands for production of different cash crops, like cotton, sesame, groundnut, wheat, fruits, Mining is also very promising sector. Sudan is now in the second place among the African countries producing and exporting gold, about 80 tons of gold were produced and exported last year. Beside the conducive and favorable political climate prevailing now in Sudan as the result of the national comprehensive political dialogue and along with othergeographical and economic privileges, Sudan can work as Korean trade hub in the whole region.
Sudan and Sudanese people can’t and will never forget the great technical support generously rendered by Korean Government, in term of building a multi-community development projects in the Sudan, like vocational training centers, endemic diseasescombating projects, agricultural training centers, in addition to the post graduate scholarships to the Sudanese students in the Korean universities. I avail this opportunity to extend our deep thanks to the Government of Korea as well as to the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
I feel very grateful tothe Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Korea for its kind and great support and cooperation aiming at further consolidation of the bilateralrelationship between our two peoples. This cooperation was manifested in the successful visit of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Sudan Prof. Ibrahim Gandourto Korea in November 1st 2016, as well as in the first ever visit of Korean cultural caravan to Sudan, thankfully organized by Korea – Arab Society (KAS) in October 2016, and also in convening of the High Level Consultation Committee meetings in Khartoum on April 5th, 2017. The outcomeof this close coordination and cooperation between the two Foreign Ministries will add eventually a vivid and vibrant energy in the blood cycle of the relationship between the two friendly peoples.
Last but not least, I reiterate the readiness and keenness of the Government of the Sudan to work vigorously to boost and promote the bilateral relationship, and, I also extend my sincere thanks and appreciation toall of you, for coming and joining to celebrate this event which reflects and commemorate a very shining moment in the history of our two friendly peoples.