| Submit your comments on this article |
| Africa Horn |
| Turkey to restore Sudanese Red Sea port and build naval dock |
| 2017-12-27 |
| [AlAhram] ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... will rebuild a ruined Ottoman port city on Sudan's Red Sea coast and construct a naval dock to maintain civilian and military vessels, Sudan's foreign minister said on Tuesday, as Ankara expands military and economic ties in Africa. The restoration at Suakin was agreed during a visit to the ancient port by Making the first trip by a He said the Suakin deal was one of several, worth $650 million in total, agreed with Sudan, which emerged from two decades of US sanctions in October and is seeking to attract international investment. The countries also agreed "to build a dock to maintain civilian and military vessels," Ghandour told news hounds, adding that they had signed an agreement "that could result in any kind of military cooperation". The agreements come three months after Turkey formally opened a $50 million military training base in Somalia as it excerts increasing influence in the region. Suakin was Sudan's major port when it was ruled by the Ottoman Empire, but fell into disuse over the last century after the construction of Port Sudan, 35 miles (60 km) to the north. Speaking on Monday in Khartoum, Erdogan said the refurbished port city would attract Mecca-bound pilgrims who would want to see the island's history, helping Sudan's tourism sector. "Imagine, people from Turkey wishing to go on pilgrimage will come and visit the historical areas on Suakin Island," Erdogan said. "From there ... they will cross to Jeddah by boat." The other agreements signed during Erdogan's visit include Erdogan and Bashir said they aimed for trade between the two countries to reach $10 billion, Turkey's Foreign Economic Relations Board said. In October, the United States lifted a trade embargo and other penalties that had cut Sudan off from much of the global financial system. Sudan's state minister for investment has said he aims to attract investment of $10 billion a year, compared to $1 billion estimated by the United Nations ...an organization conceived in the belief that we're just one big happy world, with the sort of results you'd expect from such nonsense... for 2016. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #2 this seems to be one of those magical thinking projects; a tourist port in Sudan with upscale restaurants and hotels -- Erdogan will, no doubt, coerce some Turkish millionaires into investing in this but it seems to me to be a nearly certain money loser |
| Posted by: lord garth 2017-12-27 09:05 |
| #1 Pirate base. Wait till ribbon cutting and then bomb the sh*t out of it. Preferably while Turkish brass are on site. |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2017-12-27 07:02 |