There is a mutual desire to further enhance bilateral trade and investments between the two countries, the MEA said

Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan paid a two-day(October 18-19) visit to Sudan where he called on General Abdel Fatah Al Burhan Abdel Rahman, Head of Transitional Sovereignty Council and Dr. Abdallah Hamdok, Prime Minister and held discussions on a wide range of bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.

According to a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday, during the visit, the MoS External Affairs held discussions with Dr. Mariam Al-Sadig Al-Mahdi, Foreign Minister on bilateral cooperation and reviewed the entire gamut of our bilateral relations.

He also visited the National Energy Research Centre in Khartoum to which India had provided photovoltaic modules fabrication machines way back in 2007 under Exim Bank’s Line of Credit.

The fabrication line is still functional and the Institute is very happy with its performance.

During the meetings with Sudanese leadership, it was agreed to hold the 4th India-Sudan Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC) at an early date, to give further impetus to New Delhi-Khartoum bilateral relationship, the MEA said.

The MoS interacted with Sudan Business Community on strengthening bilateral trade and commerce ties and called upon them to participate in India's growth story, the MEA added.

Sudan has a small but vibrant Indian community of about 3000 persons, mostly businessmen, skilled workers and professionals working for various private sector companies and international organizations.

As per the MEA, MoS Muraleedharan also interacted with a large section of the Indian community during the visit.

Overall, the visit set the tone for further diversifying and deepening our bilateral relations with Sudan, the MEA added.