Representative of Chamber of Commerce at COMESA Meetings in Kigali to (Sudan Events): Sudan proposed rehabilitating the continental road linking Sudan and Ethiopia and building a free zone in the Doka city.

Representative of Chamber of Commerce at COMESA Meetings in Kigali to (Sudan Events):
Sudan proposed rehabilitating the continental road linking Sudan and Ethiopia and building a free zone in the Doka city.
For these reasons, the volume of trade with COMESA countries is weak

Interviewed by: Rehab Abdullah

The representative of the Gedaref Chamber of Commerce, Khaled Abdul Latif Al-Badawi, has stressed the importance of Sudan’s involvement and participation in all the activities of COMESA (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa), held in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, to know the opportunities available for the Sudanese economy. Al-Badawi revealed that Sudan proposed a number of projects during its participation in COMESA workshop to develop infrastructure projects in COMESA countries. Al-Badawi pointed out the weakness of trade between Sudan and COMESA countries. More details in his following statements:
You participated in the COMESA workshop to develop infrastructure projects in COMESA countries. What is the primary purpose of participation?
Yes, we received an invitation from the COMESA organization to attend a conference regarding the issue of companies in developing infrastructure and their role in maximizing and developing the capabilities of developing countries and their impact in advancing sustainable development. The conference is entitled regional infrastructure financing facilities project, which means regional facilities for finding financing for infrastructure projects.
What are the topics discussed at the conference?
The discussion was about the laws regulating companies in the COMESA countries, taking into account the laws of the member states so that there would be no conflict. Therefore, the company law came with great flexibility to suit all countries. Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, was chosen for the conference because it is a living example of the success of companies. The conference discussed several successful experiences of some African countries. This is considered an achievement of the objectives of COMESA in cooperation, development and sustainable development that the organization seeks.
What are the projects proposed by the Sudanese delegation to the organization?
Sudan proposed rehabilitating the continental road linking Sudan and Ethiopia, in addition to building a free zone in the city of Dokka to facilitate the export and import process, as well as establishing a commodity exchange to develop crop markets and linking them to global markets, in addition to building a hospital containing a modern diagnostic center with international specifications to localize medical treatment at home, and building Grain silos and modern warehouses, especially refrigerators, and building residential complexes and commercial centers.
What is the mechanism by which these projects will be established and financed?
COMESA will present the above projects to the private sector to invest in these vital projects that serve the infrastructure under the corporate system. They will be financed by the World Bank, and the companies will recover their costs along with the profits they earn from implementing investment projects. The projects will transfer to the state after a period of time determined by the contract. The agreement is concluded between the implementing company and the state, and usually infrastructure projects are large projects and the companies are for a long period of time, from 20 to 30 years, so that the service provided to the customer is at a reasonable value.
What is required from Gedaref State?
What is required from the state now is to prepare feasibility studies from expert houses for these projects in order to clarify the features of the projects that we have presented.
How do you see the volume of trade between Sudan and COMESA countries?
The volume of trade between Sudan and the COMESA countries is considered weak compared to some member states. This may be due to the fact that our accession came late compared to some African countries. There are some difficulties that Sudan has worked to overcome, such as the construction of continental roads such as the Gedaref Al-Qalabat Road and the Omdurman-Arqin Road. This led to the revitalization of trade, and there are roads under construction that have not yet been completed.
How does Sudan benefit under the current circumstances?
Sudan is now in this difficult circumstance in need of economic integration and resorting to economic blocs, especially after the destruction of most of the infrastructure, the devastation that befell the private sector, and the destruction of most small and large industries. Therefore, legislation and laws must be enacted to encourage exports, especially in the field of agricultural products, livestock, and fisheries. In particular, attracting foreign capital to stimulate the economy and create job opportunities in the field of production by developing the list of export-oriented industries and paying attention to trade in services in the field of transportation and communications to connect Sudan by establishing good roads with neighboring countries. Believing in this, we proposed the rehabilitation of the continental road between Sudan and Ethiopia as an outlet for several African countries. The state must create an environment to enable the private sector, which was affected by the effects of the war, to play its role in moving the economic stagnation by creating opportunities with neighboring countries, activating partnerships between COMESA countries, and exploiting all available opportunities to achieve the goals. This requires participation in all COMESA activities to provide up-to-date commercial information on a regular basis in order to accelerate the market response through cooperation between chambers of commerce and industry, facilitate and support the exchange of experiences between African countries that were suffering from civil wars, and enhance the role of chambers of commerce in formulating national economic policies, especially in the current economic situation, because they are the ones who bear the impact of economic policies.
And Gedaref State in coordination between the Chamber of Commerce and the Ministry of Finance are starting to include projects (rehabilitation of the continental road, rehabilitation of the free zone, rehabilitation of the dry port) among the projects that will be implemented through COMESA to develop foreign trade between COMESA countries.