Strengthening India – Sudan Business Partnership Seminar

The Embassy of India, Khartoum organized a day long Business Seminar titled ‘Strengthening India – Sudan Business Partnership’ on 5 November 2022 at Hotel Al Salam, Khartoum. The event was organized in hybrid mode. Participants from Sudan attended in physical mode while those from India joined in virtual mode.

2. This seminar was the first among the series of events that the Embassy of India has planned for promoting India-Sudan Business cooperation. The seminar aimed to explore the opportunities to promote India-Sudan bilateral trade, investment opportunities in Sudan, and trade prospects in priority sectors of mutual interest. The discussion also included bilateral tie-ups and business initiatives.

3. H.E. Mrs. Ahlam Madani Mehdi, Hon’ble Federal Minister of Investment of Sudan was the Chief Guest. During her remarks, Hon’ble Minister lauded the role of Indian investors in Sudan and sought partnership and investment from Indian companies in the areas of agriculture, renewable energy, MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Scale Industries) and other areas.

4. Prominent Sudanese businessmen from various sectors, Indian investors, business facilitators, representatives from the Government, and representatives of various Sudanese trade bodies attended the seminar. Representatives from 134 Indian companies from a wide spectrum virtually attended the seminar.

5. The seminar started with a presentation titled ‘Lands of Opportunities - India & Sudan’ from the Ambassador of India Mr. B.S. Mubarak, which covered all the dimensions of trade and investment opportunities between India and Sudan. Messages of Dr. Ajay Sahai, Director General and CEO, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO); Mr. Ganapathi Ramachandran, Co-Chair, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) India-Africa Council and Chairman- Trigyn Technologies; Mr. Ravi Udaya Bhaskar, Director General, Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (PHARMEXCIL) were screened.

6. Mr. Haytham Siddig Altigani, Foreign Relations Manager, Sudanese Business Federation; Mr. Haitham Al Tigani, Secretary General, Chamber of Importers, Sudanese Union of Chamber of Commerce; Mr. Ahmad Amin Abdul Latif, Chairman, CTC Group; and Mr. Venus Jani, Business Development Manager, El-Barbary Group were the Keynote speakers of the Seminar. Keynote speakers covered various areas of trade and investment prospects between India and Sudan.

7. Experts from Pharma, Plastic, Agriculture, Chemical, Leather, and textiles sectors spoke about the opportunities and challenges in trade and business collaboration between India and Sudan in the above areas.

8. Dr. Taha Eltayeb Ahmed, Chairman of the Union of Sudanese Banks gave his remarks on the issues related to banking transactions between India and Sudan and efforts being taken in partnership with the Embassy of India to resolve these issues.

9. In the question-and-answer session and open discussions, trade challenges; how to strengthen the trade relations between India and Sudan; and suggestions to explore new trade opportunities were discussed. Several business representatives from India raised questions and benefited from these discussions.