Q & As: Understanding the Sudan Development Program

A. The Sudan Development Program’s main aims are to attract foreign investment into Sudan to facilitate the country’s development, to promote bilateral relations, to provide the international business community with direct access to ministers and government officials and to give the Sudanese private sector a direct business channel to the global community.

A. Sudan is the largest and one of the most diverse countries in Africa, with a mixed economy and plentiful natural resources providing the platform for commercial investment across all industry sectors.

A. Sudan is blessed with abundant natural oil reserves, reserves that could put it into the league of the Gulf States, with a proven two billion barrels of recoverable oil and estimates that go far beyond that. Current production rates are set at around 450,000 barrels per day, with aims to increase productivity to 800,000 barrels per day by 2007.

However, Sudan’s natural resources do not begin and end with oil. Sudan is one of the few remaining countries in the world to possess a huge wealth of undiscovered natural minerals. In a geological study of Sudan, the Arab Mineral Organisation identified 36 natural minerals found in around 245 locations. These included gold, silver, chromite, iron, magnesium, copper, zinc, nickel, lead, tungsten, asbestos, talc, kaolinite, phosphate, quartz, uranium, granite, feldspar and sulphate minerals.

Agriculture also plays a key role in the Sudanese economy. Cotton and gum arabic remain Sudan's major agricultural exports, while grain sorghum (dura) represents the principal food crop and wheat is grown for domestic consumption. Other products include sesame seeds and peanuts, which are cultivated both for export and domestically. Livestock production is also an area of vast potential, with animals such as camels and sheep exported to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Arab region. However, there are still many problems for Sudan's agricultural sector to overcome in order to meet its full potential, the biggest being irrigation and transportation.

A. Key infrastructure projects such as improved roads, public services and transport also provide tremendous business opportunities. One of the major impediments to Sudan is its dilapidated transportation infrastructure – with a land mass of over 2.5 million square kilometres and with limited finances, it has struggled to implement the changes required for the necessary development, with the road network mainly concentrated in the north and east of the country, the main highway linking Khartoum with Port Sudan.

Port Sudan is the only seaport of Sudan, handling a large percentage of the country's trade. Founded in 1906 as a modern harbour, it provides the commercial and shipping centre for the wealthy cotton-growing region of the valley of the Nile River, along with many other agriculture products.

Another key sector in Sudan is healthcare, where levels are well below those attained in other Arabic countries. Life expectancy in Sudan is 55 years, while for many of its neighbours it is somewhere between 60 and 70. Sudan has one of the lowest rates of pharmaceutical usage and is vastly inferior to the minimum five dollars per capita set by the World Health Organisation. The industry is in serious need of redevelopment and is dependent on hard currency to enable the import of raw materials, packaging and spare parts. Certain essentials are required to enable it to conform to global specifics.

Sudan has a healthy tourism sector, mainly due to its abundance of natural resources and varied climate. It is one of the richest African countries in terms of wildlife, birds and the natural scenery of the River Nile, all of which provide incentives for investment. Tourism is an important sector both in promoting its rich cultural heritage and in strengthening its ties with the rest of the world.

These are only some of the limitless opportunities offered by Sudan for commercial investment, the country also benefiting from a well-established banking infrastructure, incorporating both state-owned and private sector institutions.

A. International donors pledged $4.5 billion for the funding of projects in southern Sudan at a donors meeting in Oslo in April 2005. Funds from the meeting have already been put to good use in projects such as the Lokichoggio-Kapoeta-Juba-Road and the planned railway connecting Sudan with the Kenyan port of Mombasa.

A. Following the success of the inaugural Sudan Development Summit, which took place in Dubai on 12-14 February, a second Sudan Development Summit has been scheduled to take place in Khartoum on 4-6 December. The summit will look to build on the success of the inaugural event, which was responsible for $460 million in contracts signed between Sudanese and international companies, along with a number of ministerial and other trade agreements being concluded.

A. The second Sudan Development Summit was a multi-faceted event, providing a comprehensive business experience for corporate delegates. It will be based around conference panel sessions, a private 'Meet The Government' area, inclusive ministerial workshops and a large scale exhibition, which will enable global and local companies the chance to showcase the goods and services to aid Sudan's development.

The conference side of the Sudan Development Program will feature a number of panel sessions on various industries prevalent within Sudan. These topics included Investment, Oil & Gas, Agriculture, Irrigation & Animal Resources, Finance, Industry & Trade, Transport, Security & Logistics. The sessions were very successful, with a strong level of attendance.

The Meet The Government area at the inaugural Sudan Development Summit proved to be the most successful and most well received part of the summit, with a key feature of the SDP being the opportunities provided for international investors and operators to sit down face-to-face with government ministers and officials.

A. As a summit location, Dubai provides a venue and level of hospitality that is second to none, being easy to access for delegates and senior officials alone.

However, with Sudan increasingly developing its infrastructure sector and having already played host this year to the African Union and Arab League meetings in January and March respectively, it is felt that holding a summit in Khartoum is imperative to demonstrating just how much Sudan has to offer and giving business delegates first hand experience of conducting business in the country, with the second summit expected to pay host to over 500 delegates, including ministers, high ranking government officials, ambassadors and senior level corporate executives.

A. Positive steps are being taken to improve diplomatic relations, with regular meetings being held between the New Unity Government and senior US government officials, with the likes of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick regular visitors to the region, demonstrating the ongoing dialogue between the two countries, following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in January 2005.

A. The team behind the Sudan Development Program are specialists in long term strategic trade initiatives within emerging global markets. The directors have vast experience in government relations, event and conference management and promoting bilateral relations.

Having forged strong relationships with governments, trade organisations and commercial attaches across the globe, its primary objectives are to promote and facilitate commercial development, generate investment and improve ties between local business and global commerce. The Sudan Development Program will look to accomplish these objectives and provide the ideal platform for bringing Sudan into the 21st century.

The Sudan Development Program is wholly funded through corporate sponsorship and delegate fees. All revenues from the Dubai summit will be reinvested into the Sudan Development Program.