18/12/2012 (Sudan Vision) - Many agreements in various commercial and economic fields were signed between Sudan and Malaysia during the Sudanese-Malaysian investment forum, convened 1-5 November. It was a great chance to utilise the Malaysian experiences in various fields and to invest in Sudan due to the encouraging climate and the attractive investment law modified recently to boost development in Sudan.

SUNA interviewed the plenipotentiary minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the rapporteur of the forum, Mohammad Saleh Gubara, who asserted the importance of the Sudanese-Malaysian forum.

Q: What about the importance of convening this economic forum in thisperiod?

A: The forum aims to improve economic relations and to attract the investment besides focusing on the Malaysian experiences in the modern technical fields. For that reason we adopted scientific plans long ago to motivate these fields. Additionally the forum was a great chance to utilise the Malaysian experiences in marketing and to attract technical and scientific marketing institutions which contributed in building the commercial and economic power of Malaysia. We can say the forum is the result of all efforts exerted by the Sudanese embassy, the Sudanese community and the Sudanese companies which visited Malaysia recently.

Q: What are the most prominent agreements that were signed during the five-day forum?

A There are 11 agreements; two of them were signed with two big companies in animal wealth and to export meats to Malaysia. Working will start in the next few weeks. It is a result of three years of studies. All preparations are ready now.

The companies signed agreements with White Nile and Gezira and the Ministry of Trade. Sudan owns huge animal wealth, more than Australia, which exports meats to Malaysia. We have one slaughterhouse only, while Malaysia established more than 14 in Australia to facilitate meats exporting. We really need to utilise the scientific Malaysian experience to develop our animal and agricultural fields and to use reclaimed land and marketing.

Q: What about the other agreements?

A: Gezira signed an agreement with a Malaysian foundation concerned with building airports to establish a modern airport in the state to utilise its resources; besides, there were some agreements between Malaysian companies and the Sudan Currency Printing Press and another agreement in building and construction with the Housing Fund. The coordination will be with Malaysian companies that work in building housing, according to high qualified standards and suitable prices.

In field of gum-Arabic we say that Sudan is the first in producing this vital commodity, but unfortunately we are not marketing it as a final product. The countries that market this commodity in its final shape haven't in fact any gum-Arabic trees, such as France, Germany, the US and some European states. The crop is purified in special laboratories there, after we export it as a raw material. Gum-Arabic enters in more than 82 nutrition industries, like foods, drinks, and many kinds of sweets, drugs, cosmetics, textiles and printing. Sudan's exporting of raw-material gum-Arabic is at 2.500 per tonne, while France and Germany export the commodity in its final product for about US $7.000 per tonne. Because of the price difference we need to invest in gum-Arabic.

Good results were achieved in this field after entering in negotiations with Malaysian investors to establish a centre for studies and research on gum-Arabic in a specific university, which is the second one in research in Malaysia.

Other agreements were signed between the Gum-Arabic Council and the big Malaysian foundation "SHILDA" to utilise the foundation's experience in promoting palm oil such that Malaysia became the first country in the world in palm oil production and exportation.

Also we targeted utilising these Malaysian experiences in increasing and promoting the production and finding new opportunities of work for about 15 million persons who live in and around production areas to reduce the rate of poverty there.

We asserted that the Sudanese embassy in Malaysia managed to send the gum-Arabic directly to Malaysia without any foreign mediator as what happened in the past. We will refresh the investment and the Sudanese economy through finding new markets with suitable prices.

Q: What are the main achievements of the forum?

A: The forum witnessed the participation of big companies registered of "NABTA COMPANY" which will be the agent of export and import between Sudan and Malaysia. Besides that, the forum realised three successes: the exhibition that reflected and focused on investment in Sudan, the scientific papers and symposiums, and third the signing of agreements between the two countries.