Interview: FOCAC significant platform for pragmatic, efficient China-Africa cooperation: Sudan's energy minister

KHARTOUM, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- Sudan's Minister of Energy and Petroleum Mohieddin Naeem Mohamed Saeed has said that the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) constitutes a significant platform for China and Africa to carry out pragmatic and efficient cooperation and build a high-level community with a shared future.

Saeed made the remarks in an interview with Xinhua in Port Sudan city in eastern Sudan ahead of the upcoming FOCAC summit in Beijing scheduled from September 4 to 6.

"The forum has played a vital role in promoting investment, trade, and people-to-people bonds between Africa and China via the implementation of a number of large-scale key infrastructure projects," he said.

According to the minister, through the summit, African and Chinese leaders will renew their friendship, discuss cooperation, and talk about the future at a higher level, which is not only an urgent aspiration of the African and Chinese peoples but also a practical need in light of the new era and evolving circumstances.

Describing the Sudan-China relationship as "a model of South-South cooperation," Saeed anticipated that the summit will continue to expand bilateral investment and trade in traditional sectors, including infrastructure and agriculture.

He also expressed hope that cooperation between the two sides would gradually extend to emerging fields such as clean energy and green economy, which will provide a strong impetus for the common development of Africa and China, while also opening up a bright vision for the enduring friendship between the two sides.

Noting that this year marks the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Sudan and China, the Sudanese minister stressed that his country places great importance on this occasion as an opportunity to strengthen and enhance the strategic partnership between the two nations.

Sudan is ready to deepen practical cooperation with China in various fields within the framework of the FOCAC, China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, and the Belt and Road Initiative, Saeed emphasized.

As the gateway to the African continent and an important FOCAC member, Sudan can rely on its unique geographical advantages to serve as a bridge for communication between Africa and China and contribute to improving and upgrading China-Africa relations, he said.

Over the years, China and Sudan have maintained extensive and fruitful cooperation in the field of oil. Since the 1990s, with China's support, Sudan has built a comprehensive oil industry chain that encompasses exploration, development, production, refining, chemical engineering, and sales, transforming from a crude oil importer into an exporter.

Sudan regards China as "a strategic partner," Saeed said, noting that he will visit China during the upcoming summit of FOCAC, and the visit is aimed at exploring further opportunities for restoring and enhancing cooperation between the two countries.

Highlighting Sudan's willingness to build a partnership with China in the fields of oil and electricity, Saeed said that his country is considering establishing transmission lines between states, particularly in the Darfur region, to expand the coverage of the national power grid.

Sudan is expecting Chinese enterprises to return to invest and conduct business in Sudan at the right time, actively participating in the country's post-war reconstruction and continuing the profound friendship between the two nations, he added.