Sudan, Turkey discuss greater military cooperation

Sudanese and Turkish defence ministers met in Istanbul yesterday to discuss greater military cooperation between the two countries, a Sudanese army spokesperson said.

Armed Forces spokesman, Ahmed Khalifa Al-Shami, said Sudan’s Defence Minister Awad Ibn Auf arrived to participate in the 13th International Defence Industry Fair (IDEF) and met with his Turkish counterpart, Fikri Isik.

He pointed that Ibn Auf and Isik discussed “ways to promote joint cooperation in military fields and defence industries.”

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For his part, Isik said annual sales of the Turkish defence industry came close to $6 billion last year. He stressed that Turkey aims to be amongst the ten most developed countries in the defence industry globally.

Organised by the Turkish presidency, the IDEF ends on Friday and will be attended by various international bodies and diplomatic missions.

Sudan and Turkey have long standing military cooperation ties. Defence ministers last met in January in Khartoum to open the Soor factory that produces military uniforms for the Sudanese army. Two years ago, Sudan and Turkey carried out joint military manoeuvres in Sudan’s territorial waters in the Red Sea.