"When we talk about minerals, Sudan is a very rich country. So we can have a sort of strategic partnership together," said Sudanese Ambassador to Indonesia Dr. Yassir Mohamed Ali in an interview with ANTARA here on Wednesday.
He made this proposal considering that both countries are large countries with abundant resources.
With the people of both countries loving peace and sharing similar values and cultures, Ali believes this could be a solid foundation for building a strategic partnership.
Indonesia is currently aspiring to be the fifth largest economy in the world and has also become a member of BRICS.
In addition, Indonesia also held the second Indonesia-Africa Forum (IAF) in Bali in 2024, which resulted in a number of economic agreements between Indonesia and countries in the region.
Meanwhile, Africa, often known as the richest continent in the world, has enormous resources with a meager population, opening up huge opportunities for Indonesia to exploit the resources on the continent through cooperation.
"If you manage to establish a strong foothold in those countries, you can go to other neighboring countries around those countries, in that region, because Africa is a region," he said.
From a geopolitical perspective, Ali said that Sudan is a very important country in the Red Sea. Meanwhile, Indonesia is number one in the halal economy. Therefore, he believes that Indonesia has great potential to lead Africa.
"And when we talk about Africa, we look for partners. One of them is Sudan," Ali said.
"We have a brotherhood, you know, feeling towards each other. This sense of fraternity brings us together and we flourish together. That's what we aspire from Indonesia, inshallah," the ambassador remarked.
In the trade sector, Indonesia and Sudan recorded a trade value of less than US$50 million due to the current war in Sudan.
Sudan imports products such as clothing, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and oil as well as palm oil from Indonesia. Meanwhile, Indonesia imports peanuts, sesame, and cotton from Sudan.
Ali said the two countries lack strong government-to-government (G-to-G) ties.
Therefore, he believes that if the two countries can build a strong partnership and record significant trade transactions, they could achieve trade values reaching billions of dollars.
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Translator: Katriana
Editor: Arie Novarina
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