On Occasion of 45th Anniversary
South Korea and Sudan have agreed to strengthen their economic cooperation as the recent lifting of U.S. sanctions against the African country.
South Korea's Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Affairs Lee Tae-ho, who is visiting the African country for two days from April 5 to 6, inked the agreement with Sudan's foreign affairs minister Kamal Eldeen.
"On occasion of the 40th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between South Korea and Sudan, Lee's latest visit to the African country has given an opportunity to deepen and expand the cooperation between the two countries,” the foreign affairs ministry said.
In the meeting, the Sudanese minister confirmed once again his country no longer has any kind of military collaboration with North Korea and promised its full support for international efforts to solve the security issues involving North Korea, according to the ministry.
Earlier in November last year when Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Grandeur visited Seoul, he said that Sudan, which had kept a close military relationship with North Korea, cut completely its military connection with the communist country. Since then, Sudan has criticized North Korea’s developments of nuclear and missiles.
Lee also held a separate meeting with Sudan’s deputy foreign minister Abdel-ghani Elnaim and agreed to strengthen bilateral collaboration on trade, investment and infra development. In particular, the Sudan’s deputy foreign minister showed much interest in cooperation for infrastructure building. To that end, Lee requested Sudan's approval of bilateral pacts that will enable Korean businesses to participate actively in investment and trade with Sudan.
Washington tentatively lifted its 20-year-old sanctions on Sudan in January this year considering its progress in peace and humanitarian issues. The sanction is subject to a six-month review.