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12 July 2021 16:05

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks and answers to media questions at a joint news conference with Foreign Minister of Sudan Mariam Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi following talks, Moscow, July 12, 2021

Ladies and gentlemen,

We are happy to welcome the Sudanese delegation headed by Foreign Minister Mariam Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi to Moscow. Our talks were very useful. We discussed a range of bilateral relations, cooperation in the UN and problems lined with the efforts of the international community to settle conflicts in Africa.

Last January we celebrated the 65^th anniversary of diplomatic relations. During this period, our political dialogue, economic cooperation and humanitarian links have reached a fundamentally new level.

Today, we confirmed our intention to continue implementing top-level agreements, in part, those that President of Russia Vladimir Putin and Chairman of the Sovereignty Council of Sudan Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman al-Burhan reached during their talks on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi in October 2019.

Last February, we had lengthy talks with Prime Minister of Sudan Abdalla Hamdok on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

In the economic area, we have the Russia-Sudan Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation. Recently, our Sudanese friends appointed a new chair who is the Minister of Oil, Gas and Mineral Resources. Our co-chair is the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Alexander Kozlov. Ms Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi will be meeting with him tomorrow. I am sure this will help fix the dates for the next commission meeting and the working group on geology operating under its auspices.

We also support the ongoing activities of the Russia-Sudan Business Council that fosters cooperation between the business communities of the two countries.

We reaffirmed our unwavering support for the efforts of the Sudanese leaders to reach national accord in this transitional period of national development and to resolve complicated domestic socio-economic issues. Thus, Russia consistently advocates the lifting of sanctions introduced by the UN Security Council in 2004. They have lost any sense under the current conditions and have even become an obstacle in the way of national progress.

We talked about the need to develop international cooperation based on the UN Charter without double standards and to facilitate the settlement of various conflicts, especially in the Middle East, North Africa and the rest of Africa exclusively through peaceful political and diplomatic means.

From these positions, we exchanged views on the developments in the Palestine-Israeli and the Syrian settlements and the situation in Libya after the recent Berlin Conference. We agreed to maintain close coordination on these and other issues in the UN. We informed our colleagues about Russia’s implementation of the agreements reached at the first Russia-Africa Summit in October 2019 and told them about the steps we are taking in cooperation with the African Union leaders on preparing a new summit meeting between Russia and all members of the African Union.

We agreed to invigorate the work of the Russia-Sudan High-Level Working Committee co-chaired by the deputy foreign ministers of the two countries. The committee monitors the implementation of agreements in all areas of our cooperation.

I would like to thank Ms Minister for accepting our invitation. This allowed us to efficiently plan further cooperation.

Question: Now that the deadline for the US troop withdrawal in Afghanistan is approaching, Washington is making it clear that it wants to have a military foothold in Central Asia. Doesn’t this contradict CSTO security agreements?

Sergey Lavrov: The Americans have made many things ‘clear’ during their 20 years in Afghanistan, starting from proclaiming a victory for democracy and ending with a hasty withdrawal during which they left enormous amounts of military hardware and other equipment. The question about plans like this must be addressed to the Central Asian countries rather than the Americans. Let me recall that in addition to Central Asia they have already addressed Pakistan. The Pakistani leaders replied publicly that they would not even discuss this variant. Uzbekistan made a similar statement.

As for other Central Asian countries, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are indeed members of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO). Under its Charter, issues pertaining to a foreign military presence on the territory of any CSTO member are subject to approval within this framework. Personally, I don’t think the appearance of new US military facilities in Central Asia would promote security in this region.

Indicatively, none of these countries have expressed a need to hold consultations on this issue in the CSTO. In addition to commitments in the CSTO, there are strictly practical considerations. The Pentagon says they would like to have an opportunity to deploy their military resources around Afghanistan to have the ability to carry out a strike against this territory if necessary. I don’t think anyone is interested in becoming a hostage to such US policy and intentions, and in inviting retaliation.

If, having more than 100,000-strong NATO contingent at their disposal the Americans failed to do anything from inside the country, what results are they going to achieve with a much smaller presence outside Afghanistan? I think the answer is clear.

Most probably, they simply want to ensure their military presence in Central Asia and be able to influence the situation in this region. I believe all parties understand this and will proceed from the commitments that exist in various associations.

Question (to both ministers): On July 1, President of Russia Vladimir Putin submitted an agreement on building a Russian naval station in Sudan for ratification by the State Duma. Earlier, Sudan announced its decision to revise this agreement. Did you discuss this issue at the talks? What questions remain outstanding and, the main point, will this station be built?

Sergey Lavrov: We discussed this issue. We told our partners that the process of ratification is underway in Russia. As you know, our Parliament is between sessions now. When they return, the State Duma of the Russian Federation will review a schedule for discussing this document. Apparently, the next Duma session will deal with it.

Foreign Minister of Sudan Mariam Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi reported that Sudan is also preparing for the start of the ratification process. It will follow the current procedures in the Sudanese parliament for this.

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Bilateral relations

RUSSIA-SUDAN RELATIONS

The Soviet Union and Sudan established diplomatic relations on January 5, 1956.

Bilateral ties remained stable throughout the 1960s. At that time, the countries signed long-term agreements making it possible to successfully expand bilateral cooperation in various areas. Since the 1970s, Khartoum started unilaterally curtailing its contacts with the Soviet Union. After the April 1985 military coup the participants of which overthrew the regime of Gaafar Nimeiry, bilateral relations began to be gradually restored on the initiative of the Sudanese side.

On December 29, 1991, Sudan officially recognised the Russian Federation, as well as other CIS countries. The current Sudanese leadership headed by President Omar al-Bashir is interested in expanding diverse cooperation with Russia.

The two countries maintain top- and high-level political dialogue.

On October 25, 2010, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had a telephone conversation with the President of Sudan Omar al-Bashir. They discussed certain aspects of Russia-Sudan relations and matters concerning a domestic Sudanese peace settlement.

Between October 18-21, 2015, Second Sudanese Vice President https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hassabu_Mohamed_Abdalrahman" title="Hassabu Mohamed Abdalrahman">Hassabu Abdalrahman headed a large national delegation on a working visit to Moscow. During the visit, he held talks with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sergey Donskoy and also had meetings with representatives of the Russian business community.

Both countries’ foreign ministries continue to cooperate. In November 2001 and May 2006, Sudan’s foreign ministers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustafa_Osman_Ismail" title="Mustafa Osman Ismail">Mustafa Osman Ismail and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lam_Akol" title="Lam Akol">Lam Akol visited Moscow. In December 2010, May 2012, April 2013 and April 2014, Sudanese Foreign Minister https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Ahmed_Karti" title="Ali Ahmed Karti">Ali Ahmed Karti also visited Moscow. On December 3, 2014, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov paid a working visit to Khartoum. While there, he had a meeting with the President of Sudan Omar al-Bashir and held talks with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Ahmed_Karti" title="Ali Ahmed Karti">Ali Ahmed Karti. On September 10, 2015, Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour visited Moscow. On February 26, 2016, Ibrahim Ghandour had a conversation with Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the third ministerial session of the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum in Moscow.

The countries maintain regular contacts on the sidelines of UN General Assembly sessions, like in 2010, 2011, 2014 and 2016, when Sergey Lavrov had meetings with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Ahmed_Karti" title="Ali Ahmed Karti">Ali Ahmed Karti and Ibrahim Ghandour.

In September 2015, foreign ministers of Sudan and South Sudan, Ibrahim Ghandour and Barnaba Marial Benjamin Bil, held talks in Moscow at the invitation of the Russian side. Moscow also hosted a trilateral meeting that involved Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Moscow regularly receives special representatives of heads of state. Abdel Rahim Mohamed Hussein, Special Representative of the President of Sudan for Darfur, has visited Moscow three times (October 2004 as Interior Minister and October 2006 and November 2008 as Defence Minister). During his visits, he handed over messages from the President of Sudan on the Darfur issue to the President of Russia. In April 2000, Sudanese Minister of Finance and National Economy Awad Ahmed Al- Jaz, Special Representative of the President of Sudan, visited Moscow and handed a message from Omar al-Bashir to the President of the Russian Federation in connection with issuing the International Criminal Court’s March 4, 2009 warrant for arresting the Sudanese leader. On December 7, 2012, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov received Sudanese Presidential Aide Nafie Ali Nafie who headed a Sudanese interdepartmental delegation to Moscow and who handed a message on prospects for expanded bilateral relations from President of Sudan Omar al-Bashir to President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.

Between 2009-2012, the Russian President’s Special Presidential Representative for Sudan Mikhail Margelov repeatedly visited Khartoum.

On June 2, 2015, Special Presidential Representative for the Middle East and Africa and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov attended the inauguration ceremony of President of the Republic of the Sudan Omar al-Bashir.

On October 10, 2016, Mikhail Bogdanov attended an official ceremony marking the end of the conference on national dialogue and also had talks with a number of officials, including President of Sudan Omar al-Bashir, Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour, Minister of Minerals Ahmed Al-Karuri and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Kamal Ismail Saeed.

In December 2010, both sides established the Russian-Sudanese High-Level Working Committee as the main mechanism of foreign policy cooperation and for coordinating expanded diverse cooperation. Committee members have met six times to date, with Moscow hosting the latest meeting on August 3, 2017. Special Presidential Representative for the Middle East and Africa and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov attended the meeting on behalf of Russia.

In September 2003, the foreign ministries signed a protocol for consultations and cooperation in the area of improving the professionalism of diplomatic personnel. In February 2015, eight employees of the Sudanese Foreign Ministry attended courses at the Foreign Ministry’s Diplomatic Academy in Moscow. Between May-June 2016, 15 employees of the Sudanese Foreign Ministry also studied at the Foreign Ministry’s Diplomatic Academy in Moscow and ten more Sudanese Foreign Ministry employees enrolled in September 2017.

Russia and Sudan maintain inter-parliamentary contacts. In June 2004, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Taher, paid a working visit to Moscow. In February 2005, a delegation of the Federation Council of the Russian Federal Assembly headed by First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Information Policy Sergey Anokhin visited Khartoum. In November 2006, Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Mikhail Margelov also visited Khartoum. In November 2008, a Sudanese parliamentary delegation headed by Osman Mudawi, Chairperson of the Sudan National Assembly’s Committee on Foreign Relations, visited Moscow at the invitation of the Federation Council. In 2014, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Ibrahim Hamid attended the 3^rd International Parliamentary Forum. In October 2015, Sudanese National Assembly Speaker Ibrahim Ahmed Omer headed a delegation of Sudanese MPs at the 4^th International Parliamentary Forum in Moscow.

Both countries’ relevant ministries and departments continue to expand their cooperation. In April 2002, Sudanese Defence Minister Bakri Hassan Salih visited Russia, with the sides finalising the text of an intergovernmental agreement on military-technical cooperation. The document was signed in March 2003 when an official delegation headed by State Secretary Yury Khozyainov, Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Military and Technical Cooperation, stayed in Khartoum. In December 2006, Lieutenant General Osman Taj el Sir, Managing Director of Sudan’s National Security and Intelligence Service, visited Moscow. In July 2008, Russian Supreme Court Chairman Vyacheslav Lebedev visited Sudan, familiarised himself with the country’s judicial system and exchanged experience.

Between May 17-20, 2016, Sudanese Interior Minister Esmat Abdelrahman attended the Integrated Safety and Security Exhibition 2016 and held talks with Russian Minister for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Disaster Relief Vladimir Puchkov on the event’s sidelines.

Trade and economic ties: The currently limited Russia-Sudan trade and economic ties are regulated by the 1998 inter-governmental agreement on trade, economic and technological cooperation. Apart from domestic political risks, their development is hampered by problems in providing bank guarantees and financial payments for the delivery of goods to Sudanese companies.

The Russian-Sudanese Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation was established in September 2013. Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sergey Donskoy heads its Russian section and Minister of Minerals Hashim Ali Salim heads its Sudanese section. Between December 5-7, 2016, Moscow hosted the Commission’s fourth meeting.

According to the Russian Federal Customs Service, the January-May 2017 trade turnover between Russia and the Republic of the Sudan totaled $149.6 million, including $149.1 million worth of Russian exports. The 2016 trade turnover was $231.4 million, with the 2015 and 2014 trade turnover volumes totaling $139 million and $296 million, respectively. Russian exports totaled $231.1 million and mostly featured agricultural produce deliveries, including 860,000 tonnes of wheat worth $147.8 million, as well as machinery and equipment worth $43.9 million. Russia mostly imported $300,000 worth of agricultural produce, including Carcade (hibiscus) tea, cotton, peanuts and sesame seeds.

The two countries are moving to expand their cooperation in the nuclear power industry. On May 22, 2017, Khartoum hosted a Rosatom seminar on new products of the Russian nuclear sector. On June 20, 2017, the sides signed a memorandum of understanding between Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation and the Sudanese Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources. The document stipulated cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

Debts: As of July 1, 2017, the Republic of the Sudan owed $17.43 million to the Russian Federation, according to the Russian Ministry of Finance. On March 22, 2017, the Russian Ministry of Finance hosted Russian-Sudanese consultations on this matter.

The Russian-Sudanese Business Council was established in June 2010.

Military-technical cooperation: Bilateral military-technical cooperation was launched in 1968. Currently, Russia is fulfilling contracts for the delivery of 12 Mil Mi-8MT Hip assault-transport helicopters and 12 Mi-24P Hind transport-attack helicopters. Moscow is processing requests for the delivery of BTR-80A armoured personnel carriers, small arms and ammunition and an additional batch of helicopters.

On August 3, 2015, a protocol on making supplements to the March 3, 2003 intergovernmental agreement stipulating the establishment of a bilateral commission on military-technical cooperation entered into force. Between August 23-24, 2017, Moscow hosted the second meeting of the Mixed Russian-Sudanese Intergovernmental Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation. The Commission is currently co-chaired by Alexey Frolkin, Deputy Director of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation and Lieutenant General Omer Zayn Al-Abadin Mohamed, Deputy Director General of Sudan’s Military Industry Corporation.

In 2016, 38 Sudanese law enforcement officers completed advanced training courses at the Russian Interior Ministry’s educational institutions. Under the Russian Government’s Directive No. 1023-R of July 17, 2006, 13 Sudanese police officers received training at the All-Russian Institute for the Professional Improvement of Russian Interior Ministry Officers. They trained at specialised courses for African countries’ law enforcement officers involved in UN peacekeeping missions.

Both countries maintain limited cooperation in the area of science, culture and education. Russian universities mostly educate experts for the Sudanese economy, and a total of 10,000 experts have studied here since 1956. The University of Khartoum now runs Russian language courses for about 200 students. The Association of Graduates of Soviet and Russian Universities and the Society of Sudanese-Russian Friendship are active in Sudan.

The Russian Government pledged to enroll 35 Sudanese students during the 2015-2016 academic year. In all, 29 Sudanese citizens received the right to free education after enrolling. Today, 153 Sudanese citizens study at Russian universities.

Healthcare cooperation continues to expand. In 2013, the Russian and Sudanese healthcare ministries signed a memorandum of understanding in the area of healthcare and medical science. The Fyodorov Eye Microsurgery Complex in Russia continues to expand ophthalmology cooperation projects with Khartoum’s Medical University and Soba Hospital. Between 2012-2015, the Russian clinic treated about 1,500 citizens from the Republic of the Sudan. In 2016, about 400 Sudanese citizens visited Russia and were treated at the above-mentioned eye microsurgery complex.

In December 2002, the administrations of St Petersburg and Khartoum signed a cooperation agreement as part of region-to-region cooperation. Between April 1-2, 2013, Tijani al-Sissi, Chairman of the Darfur Regional Authority (DRA), paid a working visit to Moscow.

the Republic of the Sudan

REPUBLIC OF THE SUDAN

General information: The Republic of the Sudan is an African state bordering on Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Sudan (Republic of the South Sudan), the Central African Republic, Chad and Libya.

Area: 1.89 million square kilometres.

Population: About 40 million (July 1, 2015 UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs estimate; 30.9 million, according to the latest, 2008, census). Sunni Muslims make up 96.7 percent. Christians and people adhering to traditional religions account for 3 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.

Capital: Khartoum (population, up to 8 million with the suburbs). Other major cities: Nyala (532,000), Port Sudan (474,000), Kassala (419,000) and Al-Ubayyid (411,000).

Political system: Federation of 18 states.

President: Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir who retained his position after the April 2015 general presidential elections is the supreme state leader since 1989. First Vice President: Bakri Hassan Saleh who was also appointed Prime Minister by the March 1, 2017 Executive Order of the President of Sudan. Foreign Minister: Ibrahim Ghandour. Defence Minister: Awad Mohammed Ahmed Ibn Auf (security and law enforcement agencies play the most important role in the Government). Ibrahim Ahmed Omer heads the National Assembly (Parliament).

The country has 83 officially registered political parties. Main parties: the National Congress, the leading party, headed by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_al-Bashir" title="Omar al-Bashir">Omar al-Bashir, the Umma Party headed by Mubarak al Fadil al Mahdi, the Democratic Unionist Party headed by Muhammad Uthman al-Mirghani, the Popular Congress Party headed by Acting Deputy Secretary General Ibrahim al-Sanousi, the Communist Party of Sudan headed by Muhammad Mukhtar Al-Khatib and the Reform Now Movement headed by Ghazi Salah al-Deen al-Attabani who also leads the opposition alliance Forces of Future Changes consisting of 41 parties and organisations. This party split from the National Congress in 2013.

Religion: Sunni Islam.

Official languages: Arabic and English.

National flag: Horizontal red, white and black stripes and a green triangle with its base on the flagpole.

National emblem: Image of the secretary bird.

National anthem: Arabic song “We are the soldiers of God, we are the soldiers of our Homeland.”

National holidays: January 1: Independence Day (1956), Prophet Muhammad's Birthday (12^th day of the Rabi' al-Awwal month), the Feast of Sacrifice (tenth day of the Dhu'l-Hijja month), Corban Bairam Holiday (for three days after the end of fasting during the holy month of Ramadan) and the Muslim New Year. The country’s authorities declare these days, as well as several more days before or after, to be bank holidays.

Currency: Sudanese pound. As of September 2017, $1 costs 6.7 Sudanese pounds, with the “black market” rate being 17.6 Sudanese pounds for the dollar.

History: The current regime has ruled the country since 1989. In 2005, the Government and representatives of the southern insurgent group, the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudan_Liberation_Movement/Army" title="Sudan Liberation Movement/Army">Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A), signed the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naivasha_Agreement" title="Naivasha Agreement">Nairobi Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended the 20-year-plus civil war in southern Sudan. The Interim National Constitution of the Republic of the Sudan that was passed in 2005 remains effective to this day. Due to the country’s partition, a new fundamental law has been drafted since 2011.

Parliament: The National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, has 450 deputies, with women accounting for 25 percent. The National Congress Party has the majority of seats (317). The Council of States, the upper house of parliament, has 36 deputies or two representatives from each state of the country.

Socioeconomic situation and foreign trade: The Republic of the Sudan ranks among the poorest countries in terms of its economic development.

In 2016, the nominal GDP totaled $94.1 billion, with the 2015 nominal GDP being 81.4 billion. The per-capita 2016 GDP, in terms of the purchasing power parity, was $4,500 ($4,050 in 2015). According to official statistics, average annual inflation is 14 percent (35.6 percent in 2012). Real inflation levels are much higher. The country’s international (gold and hard currency reserves) total $167 million.

In 2016, Sudanese exports totaled $3.7 billion, with the country’s 2015 exports being $3.1 billion. Its 2016 and 2015 imports stood at $9.3 billion and $8.3 billion, respectively. China, India, Malaysia, Persian Gulf countries (the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), Ethiopia and Egypt are Sudan’s main foreign partners. Sudan exports gold, copper, crude oil and its products, leather, live cattle, sesame seeds, cotton, sugar, Arabic gum (80 percent of its global output), peanuts, Sudanese roses (hibiscus), sunflower seeds, fruit and vegetables. The country imports food and manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, medication, textiles, grain, chemicals, rubber, paper and fertiliser.

Oil production, agriculture and gold output make up for about 70 percent of state budget revenues. The agriculture sector employs about 80 percent of the population, and other economic sectors remain underdeveloped.

The economy is burdened by foreign debt servicing payments. In late 2016, Sudan’s foreign debt totaled nearly $52.6 billion. Debt-servicing payments alone account for about 80 percent of the total debt sum. About 20 percent of the country’s population lives below the poverty line.

The unfavourable national economic situation is aggravated by US economic sanctions that were imposed in 1997.

Domestic policy: The unfinished intra-Sudanese peace settlement and failure to complete the Darfur peace process are the main factors determining the domestic political situation in Sudan.

Opposition movements continue to fight the regime in Darfur, and inter-tribal rivalry caused by a struggle for resources (water, pastures, gold deposits, etc.) still persists. Between April 11-13, 2016, the country held a referendum on the region’s administrative division, with 98 percent of voters advocating the preservation of the current form of its administrative division in the form of five independent states.

The UN and the African Union operate their UNAMID joint peacekeeping mission in Darfur. This mission involves 16,000 and is the second-largest in history after the one in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

A complicated humanitarian situation persists in southern Sudan, including its zone bordering on the Republic of the South Sudan. According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 3.2 million displaced persons were registered all over Sudan in late 2016, including 2.66 million in Darfur. There are also 365,000 refugees, including 247,000 from the Republic of the South Sudan and about 100,000 Syrians.

The final status of the Abyei Area remains unresolved, with Sudan and South Sudan claiming the right to own it. On June 20, 2011, the Government of Sudan and the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudan_Liberation_Movement/Army" title="Sudan Liberation Movement/Army">Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) signed an Agreement on Temporary Arrangements for the Administration and Security of the Abyei Area in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Under the agreement, the area is subject to demilitarisation, with the Interim Security Force for Abyei (ISFA), being deployed in the Abyei Area under a UN mandate, and police units consisting of residents of local communities maintaining security there. On June 27, 2011, the UN Security Council passed its Resolution 1990 that stipulated the ISFA’s strength at 4,200 officers and soldiers and 50 police officers. They were stationed in the Abyei Area for a period of six months. On November 15, 2016, their mandate was extended for another six months.

On October 10, 2015, delegates of a conference on national dialogue regarding prospects for the future development of Sudan began their work. The conference aimed to merge all of the country’s political and social forces on a common platform. An official ceremony ending the national dialogue took place on October 10, 2016.

Foreign policy: Sudan adheres to a nationalist, pro-Islamic and pro-Arab foreign policy line, strives to invigorate cooperation with agencies of the UN family, to expand cooperation with the Arab League, the African Union and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. As of late, the country has strengthened its relations with the Gulf countries.

The country’s foreign policy mostly aims to finalise the peace settlement with South Sudan under the existing international law framework, primarily the package of the 2012 Addis Ababa agreements. The military conflict in the Republic of the South Sudan that has been continuing since late 2013 hampers the settlement process.

Sudan maintains sufficiently active ties with neighbouring countries, including Chad, Egypt, Libya and Ethiopia. Beijing, one of Khartoum’s main foreign political partners, has contributed over $6 billion worth of investment. Relations with the United States and EU countries remain complicated.

Khartoum considers a US decision on possibly lifting unilateral anti-Sudan economic sanctions from July 12, 2017 to be a breakthrough in Sudanese-US relations. The United States introduced these sanctions in 1997, with the Trump administration extending them for three months.

In January 2016, the country severed diplomatic relations with Iran as a sign of solidarity with Saudi Arabia after its diplomatic mission was attacked by protesters in Tehran.

Armed forces: 100,000 officers and soldiers (largest in the region). They include the Army, the Air Defence Force, the Navy, plus special forces and a rapid deployment force. Paramilitary forces include Internal Affairs Defence Force (70,000 officers and soldiers) and a 20,000-strong National Guard.

Research and education: Three-stage school system with 12-year curricula, as well as about 40 universities.

Culture: Extremely diverse and largely influenced by Islamic, Arab and African cultures. There are 578 ethnic-cultural groups.

Media: Official information agencies: Sudan News Agency (SUNA) and the Sudanese Media Centre (SMC), 20 regional television channels and six local channels, 16 state and 14 private radio stations, 50 different printed media outlets. Around 12 percent of the population has free access to the Internet.

Russian-Sudanese relations: The Soviet Union and Sudan established diplomatic relations on January 5, 1956. In the 1960s, both countries signed a number of long-term agreements that helped successfully expand their bilateral ties. The volume of Soviet-Sudanese relations contracted throughout the 1970s during Gaafar Nimeiry’s rule.

On December 29, 1991, Sudan officially recognised the Russian Federation as the Soviet Union’s legal successor.

Current Russian-Sudanese relations hinge on the 1998 inter-governmental agreement on trade, economic and technological cooperation and the 2003 inter-governmental agreement on military-technical cooperation.

The countries maintain regular high-level dialogue. On December 3, 2014, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov paid a working visit to Khartoum where he had a meeting with President of Sudan Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir and held talks with Foreign Minister Ali Ahmed Karti. On September 10, 2015 and February 26, 2016, Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour visited Moscow. On October 19, 2015, Second Sudanese Vice President https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hassabu_Mohamed_Abdalrahman" title="Hassabu Mohamed Abdalrahman">Hassabu Mohamed Abdalrahman also came to Moscow and held talks with Sergey Lavrov.

On September 24, 2013, both sides signed an agreement in Khartoum on establishing the Russian-Sudanese Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation. Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sergey Donskoi chairs the Commission’s Russian section and Sudan’s Minister of Minerals Hashim Ali Salim chairs its Sudanese section. The Commission’s members held their first meeting between December 16-19, 2013 in Khartoum. Moscow hosted its second meeting between December 10-12, 2014. Khartoum hosted the third meeting between December 19-22, 2015 and the fourth meeting took place between December 5-7, 2016 in Moscow.

In 2016, trade turnover between Russia and the Republic of the Sudan totaled $231.4 million, with the respective 2015 and 2014 volumes being $139 million and $296 million. Russian exports to Sudan totaled $231.1 million and included mainly agricultural products: 860,000 tonnes of wheat worth $147.8 million, 35,500 tonnes of vegetable oil worth $27.4 million, as well as $43.9 million worth of machinery and equipment, including gold-mining equipment. Russia also exported 7,600 tonnes of petroleum worth $1.3 million. It imported $300,000 worth of Carcade (hibiscus) tea, cotton, peanuts and sesame seeds from Sudan.

In May 2016, Khartoum hosted the first session of the Mixed Russian-Sudanese Intergovernmental Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation.

The status of compatriots: According to the Russian Embassy in Khartoum, about 590 Russian citizens, including 115 permanent residents, are currently staying in Sudan.

No cases of infringing upon Russian compatriots’ political and civil rights and their discrimination have been recorded. On the whole, the socioeconomic situation of Russian citizens permanently residing in Sudan remains satisfactory.

The Russian Language Faculty at the University of Khartoum is the main centre of Russian language studies in Sudan. In December 2014, the Pushkin Russian Language Room was opened at the Faculty. There is no Russian cultural centre, as well as Russian-language schools and media outlets in Sudan.