Border Trade on the Experts’ Table

Sudan Events-Nahid Oshi

The workshop “Border Trade: Problems, Solutions and Future Prospects” held in Kassala state emphasized the importance of strengthening relations between countries through border trade, addition to benefiting from the joint cooperation agreement between Kassala state and Eritrea that was recently signed.
The acting governor of Kassala, Maj.Gen.(Rtd)Al-Sadiq Mohamed Al-Azraq, pointed to the consequences of the war and its impact on all sectors and the focus of state revenues on the war effort and repelling aggression in the first place. He said during his address to the workshop organized by the Ministry of Finance and Manpower in cooperation with the Open University of Sudan, that we expect a lot from this workshop in pioneering border trade, calling for recommendations that serve this purpose and contribute to solving all the financial problems of the state related to services.
Considering the workshop as one of the important workshops that serve the state’s revenues, he called for benefiting from the state’s higher education institutions in planning and preparing partnerships between the government and institutions from which strategic planning can be launched.
Director of the Trade and Supply Department in Kassala state, Ahmed Mohamed Adam, reviewed the position of border trade in previous years and its importance in supporting the state’s economic vessels, in addition to reactivating economic activity with neighboring countries, referring to the arrangements that preceded the workshop, as well as coordination with the Customs Department regarding the activation of border crossings, particularly Al Lafa crossing and customs points.
For his part, the Commissioner of Foreign Trade in Kassala Office, Mubarak Sayed Ahmed, reviewed the desired objectives of holding the workshop and the regulations and laws governing trade, addition to the importance of having a trade office in Kassala state, indicating that organizing the workshop came at the right time to introduce border trade after it stopped since 2009.
Director General of the Ministry of Finance and Manpower reviewed the advantages of the state in terms of geographical location and commercial activity, which represents 80% of the state level.
He said that foreign trade is an important axis for supporting the local economy of the state and contributes to opening new markets with Eritrea and Ethiopia, in addition to supporting the budget and providing revenues that enable the state to finance activities in various fields.
He added that the state government’s interest in foreign trade came through its preparation of the environment for it.
He added that since the decentralized rule, we have started to care about foreign trade and have begun implementing many axes and supporting infrastructure by establishing Al Lafa border crossing and the horticultural export village.