Pakistan Special Envoy meets Sudanese President
ISLAMABAD, September 13 : Hameed Asghar Kidwai, Roving Ambassador to Sub-Sahran Africa, currently on a visit to Sudan as a Special Envoy of President General Pervez Musharraf, called on Field Marshal Omer Hassan Ahmed EI Bashir, President of Sudan in Khartoum, a Foreign Office statement said on Tuesday.
The Special Envoy conveyed the greetings and good wishes from the President and the Prime Minister to the Sudanese President and offered sincere condolences on the sad demise of First Vice President, Dr. John Garang. He also handed over a written message to the Sudanese President from President General Pervez Musharraf, dealing with the bilateral relations.
The Special Envoy briefed the Sudanese President about the investment friendly policies adopted by the present government under the dynamic leadership of President General Pervez Musharraf and significant progress achieved by Pakistan in the economic field. He also offered assistance required by Sudan in its reconstruction and said that Pakistan was ready to invest in Sudan in a big way for the mutual benefit of the two countries.
He proposed that the Sudanese government must take necessary steps for the settlement of our outstanding loans in order to restore the confidence of the Pakistani investors and underlined the need for expeditious issuance of visas to the Pakistani businessmen and said that it would greatly help in the promotion of commercial relations between the two countries.
President Bashir while welcoming the Special Envoy thanked the President for his kind gesture to send a Special Envoy to Sudan and admired the sagacious leadership of President General Pervez Musharraf. He also referred to the successful meeting with the President at Jakarta recently and said that his government was keen to further strengthen the bilateral relations with Pakistan in all domains. He recalled strong support extended by Pakistan to Sudan on Darfur issue at the UN Security Council.
President Bashir appreciated the investments made by the Hashoo Group of Companies in oil exploration and the hotel sectors of Sudan and underlined the need fro participation of more Pakistani companies in joint venture projects. He assured to extend all possible facilities in this regard.
As regards the issue of outstanding loans and difficulties being faced by the Pakistani businessmen with regard to the issuance of visas, he assured to issue instructions to the concerned departments to remove the bottlenecks in order to promote trade relations and attract the investments from Pakistan.
The Special Envoy was received by the Sudanese Foreign Minister, Dr. Mustafa Osman Ismail on August 29, 2005. He briefed the Foreign Minister about our relations with the neighboring countries including India and Afghanistan etc. He also informed the Foreign Minister about the growing economy of our country under the abled leadership of our President General Pervez Musharraf and extended support to Sudan on behalf of the Government of Pakistan in the development of its economy.
The Sudanese Foreign Minister appreciated the kind gesture of the President to send a Special Envoy to Sudan. He also thanked for the condolence coneyed on the sad demise of the First vice President, Dr. John Garang. The Foreign Minister then briefed the Special Envoy about the latest situation in Darfur, continuation of peace process after the death of Dr. John Garang and Sudan’s relations with the United States. He appreciated the desire of the Pakistani investors to invest in Sudan and suggested that Pakistani investors could invest in oil exploration, textiles, electricity, dams and road construction projects. He also extended support for Pakistan’s position on the Security Council Reform and said that Sudan was opposed to G-4 proposal for expansion of the Security Council membership in the permanent category.
During the course of the visit, the Special Envoy held meetings with the Sudanese Ministers of Investment, Industries, Finance and Economy, and Agriculture. Governor of the Central Bank of Sudan, Governor of Khartoum State and the Director General of Sudanese Free Trade Zones and Markets Company and discussed with them the ways and means of strengthening the bilateral cooperation in the economic and commercial fields.
The Special Envoy was received with cordiality and warmth during the course of the visit reflecting the spirit of brotherhood and close friendship between the two countries, His visit was a good beginning for cooperation between Pakistan and Sudan in diverse fields.
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