By: Mustafa Abdelhaleem,

Chargé d'Affaires of the Embassy of the Sudan in Baku

The 25th of July 2023 marks the thirty-first anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between the Republic of Sudan and the Republic of Azerbaijan. This day stands every year as a witness to the growing ties between the two friendly countries in many fields, besides the convergence of positions on many regional and international issues of mutual interest.

Undoubtedly, the establishment of our diplomatic relations with Azerbaijan in 1992 established a strong base for a fruitful bilateral dialogue between Khartoum and Baku that contributed to establishing distinguished bilateral relations in both political and diplomatic aspects over the past three decades. Therefore, thanks must be given to everyone who contributed to the growth of these relations between our two countries.

In the same vein, the two successive visits of the Sudanese Minister of Foreign Affairs to Baku during the first half of this year, leading the Sudanese delegations to the NAM Contact Group Summit Meeting and later the NAM Ministerial Meeting, gave great impetus to the relations between the two countries, as bilateral talks were held on the margins of those events with his Azerbaijani counterpart, H.E. JeyhunBayramov, during which they appreciated the historical cooperation between the two countries as well as discussing the best ways to strengthen it in all areas of cooperation. Both Ministers stressed the importance of continuing the mutual support on international and regional platforms and within the framework of existing bilateral agreements, besides the steady political communication between the political leaderships of the two countries. It is worth mentioning that arrangements are also being made to hold political consultation meetings between the two sides shortly.

The Government of Sudan has always been keen on developing relations with Baku and forming a solid base from which bilateral cooperation in various fields stems by intensifying high-level political contacts to crystallize a mutual vision that enables the exploitation of resources in the two friendly countries to develop cooperation in the areas of trade, investment, transport, and capacity building, as well as launching Development cooperation between regions and benefiting from the rich experiences of both sides.

Finally, I seize this opportunity to reaffirm the Sudanese government's commitment to reinforce the relations between Sudan and Azerbaijan in the coming years in a way that achieves the aspirations of the two countries and enhances the cultural and religious commonalities shared by the two brotherly peoples.

Long live the Sudanese-Azerbaijani friendship!