ANKARA - Turkish State Minister Kursad Tuzmen said on Monday that commercial relations between Turkey and Sudan gained a serious acceleration, adding, ``trade volume between two countries is growing rapidly.``
Tuzmen met Mustafa Osman Ismail, the Sudanese Minister of External Affairs, and accompanying delegation at Foreign Trade Undersecretariat (DTM).
Tuzmen said that projects, which were implemented under neighboring countries strategy, have been carried out successfully and added that Sudan is an important country for Turkey`s opening to Africa within that scope.
Stressing that Turkey-Sudan relations have developed in recent period, Tuzmen said that trade volume, which was very low between two countries, has now reached to an important amount.
Tuzmen stressed that Sudan is the key country of East Africa and said, ``Sudan is on a location which can be considered as a serious market together with its neighboring countries and through which passages can be made to other markets. Activities which have been made by Turkish Foreign Ministry, embassies and DTM have started to yield results.``
Sudanese Minister of External Affairs Ismail said that relations between Turkey and Sudan were commercial, economic and cultural.
Noting that Turkish investors were making business in Sudan at the moment and Turkish goods were taking place in Sudanese market, Ismail said that they requested the assistance of Turkish construction firms for the development of Sudan and the infrastructure activities.
Ismail, who arrived in Turkey as the guest of Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul, met Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Commission Chairman Mehmet Dulger earlier in the day.
(GC-AÖ) 26.07.2004