EU: Sudan must reform to attract foreign investment

The European Union yesterday called on Sudan to undertake reforms at all levels to attract foreign investment, the Anadolu Agency reported.

“There are no European economic sanctions imposed on Sudan, but it is very important for Sudan to undertake reforms at all levels in order to attract foreign investment,” the head of the EU delegation to Sudan, Ambassador Jean-Michel Dumond, said in a statement yesterday.

Dumond said a delegation of Sudanese officials and businessmen visited the capital of Belgium, Brussels, last week to exchange views with senior officials in the European Union regarding the management of foreign relations, trade, development and international cooperation in Sudan.

On 15 September, a delegation of government officials and businessmen led by State Minister of Investment, Osama Faisal, began an unannounced tour to several European countries including Belgium and Germany to present investment opportunities in Sudan.

According to UN statistics, foreign direct investment in Sudan fell from $2.3 billion in 2010 to $1.3 billion in 2014, before recovering to $1.7 billion in 2015.

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Sudan offers investment opportunities in the sectors of agriculture, livestock production, mining and real estate, as well as infrastructure and power generation, a previous statement by the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Investment, Najm Al-Din Hassan Ibrahim.

Sudan’s economy has deteriorated since the south seceded in 2011, taking with it three-quarters of the country’s oil output, its main source of foreign currency and government income.