Bilateral relations
Russian-Sudanese relations
Diplomatic relations between the USSR and Sudan were established on January 5, 1956.
In the 1960s bilateral relations successfully developed on the basis of long-term agreements signed at that time. Landmark high-ranking visits were to add dynamics to the rising relations.
In July 1961 Lt.General Ibrahim Abboud, the Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and the Prime Minister of Sudan, paid a historic, first ever, visit to the USSR.
In November 1961 Mr.Leonid Brezhnev, the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, visited Sudan at the head of the government delegation.
In November 1969 General Jaafar Nimeiry, the Chairman of the Revolutionary Council and the Prime Minister of Sudan, was on an official visit to the Soviet Union.
Due to the course taken by Nimeiry later in the 1970s bilateral relations with Sudan were coagulated.
After the 1985 coup the Soviet-Sudanese interaction was gradually restored.
In 1986 Mr.Sadiq Al-Mahdi, the Prime Minister of Sudan, paid an official visit to the USSR.
Following the USSR’s dissolution, Sudan recognized officially the Russian Federation and other CIS member states (on December 29, 1991).
In the post-Soviet period the Russian-Sudanese relations have stood the test of time, reaching a level meeting the long-term interests of both countries. In November 2017 the head of the Sudanese state, President Omar al-Bashir, paid a working visit to Russia for the first time in many years. In July and November 2018, he was in our country on non-official visits.
In April 2019 the ruling Transitional Military Council announced the continuity in Sudan’s relations with Moscow. For its turn, Russia supported the choice made by the Sudanese people themselves in respect to the transition period and the formation of transitional authorities.
On October 23, 2019 the heads of the two states Mr.Vladimir Putin, the President of the Russian Federation, and First Lt.General Abdelfattah Al-Burhan, the Chairman of the Transitional Sovereign Council of Sudan, met on the sidelines of the First Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi.
Contacts between representatives of the leaderships of our two countries are held with regularity.
In September 2019 at the request of the Sudanese side Mr.Abdalla Hamdok, the Prime Minister of Sudan, met Mr.Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, on the sidelines of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly in New York. They also met in February 2020 on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
In July 2021 Mrs.Mariam al-Mahdi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sudan, paid a working visit to Moscow.
On December 16, 2021 at the initiative of the Sudanese side a phone conversation was held between First Lt. General Abdelfattah Al-Burhan, the Chairman of the Transitional Sovereign Council of Sudan, and Mr.Sergey Lavrov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.
In the period of February 23 – March 2, 2022 First Lt. General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (“Hamidti”), the Deputy Chairman of the Transitional Sovereign Council of Sudan, visited Moscow at the head of the high-level Sudanese delegation,
Since 2010 the Higher Russian-Sudanese Working Committee (HRSWC) has been functioning as the main bilateral mechanism for foreign policy consultations and coordination of multi-profile joint activities. There have been held its nine meetings (convened annually), the last one – in September 2021 in Moscow, co-chaired by Mr.Mikhail Bogdanov, the Special Representative of the President of Russia for the Middle East and African countries and Deputy Foreign Minister. In February 2020 within the HRSWC framework there were held consultations in Khartoum on regional issues with the participation of Mr.Alexander Kinschak, the Director of the Middle East and North Africa Department of the Russian MFA.
Given the basis created during the Soviet period, bilateral economic ties are going ahead. The key support mechanism for these ties is the Russian-Sudanese Intergovernmental Commission for Trade and Economic Cooperation (established in 2013). Its last 6th meeting was held on December 10-12, 2018 in Moscow.
The Russian-Sudanese Business Council was established in 2010 under the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry to help to promote bilateral trade and economic relations. With its participation the first business forum “Russia-Sudan. New horizons for cooperation” was held in Khartoum in March 2020.
At present, bilateral trade and economic relations are comprehensive. A number of projects with the Russian investments are implemented in Sudan in the sector of mining and subsoil use. There are other promising areas and directions of cooperation in the energy, communications and other fields.
The volume of bilateral trade in 2021 amounted to $ 306,6 million, in 2020 – 374,68 million. The difficulties experienced by Sudan affected economic ties. In terms of structure, 90 % of trade turnover fall on food and agricultural products. The main export items are: cereals (wheat and meslin (wheat-rye mixture, usually in a two to one ratio) – 74,4 %, vegetable and animal oils, fats – 15,1 %, pharmaceutical products – 2,24 %, printing industry products – 1,64 %.
The education and training continue to be traditional areas of cooperation. For the entire period of bilateral relations more than 4 thousand Sudanese citizens received higher education in the Soviet / Russian universities. Within the government quotas the expense of the federal budget, Russia annually allocates 45 scholarships for Sudanese citizens
