Business in Sudan, Khartoum

The objectives of the subject “Foreign Trade and Business in the Republic of Sudan” are the following:

1. To analyse the Sudanese Economy and Foreign Trade (Import, Export, FDI)
2. To know the business opportunities in the Republic of Sudan
3. To explore the Sudanese trade relations with the country of the student
4. To know the Sudanese Free Trade Agreements
5. To examine the profile of the Sudanese businesspeople and companies
6. To develop a business plan for the Sudanese market

1. Port Sudan
2. Access to the:
   1. Port of Mombasa
   2. Port of Djibouti
   3. Port Said and Port of Alexandria
3. Trans-African Corridors
   1. Cairo-Sudan-Gaborone Corridor
   2. N’Djamena-Sudan-Djibouti Corridor

Sudanese Preferential Access and Free Trade Agreements

1. Sudan and the East African Economic Area
2. Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)
3. COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Agreement
4. African Continental Free-Trade Area (AfCFTA)
5. Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)
6. Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD)
7. Greater Arab Free-Trade Area (GAFTA)
8. Islamic Trade Preferential System (TPS-OIC)
9. Islamic Centre for Development of Trade (ICDT)
10. Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA)
11. Nile Basin Initiative (NBI)
12. International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR)
13. Global System of Trade Preferences among Developing Countries (GSTP)
14. European Union-Sudan
    1. Generalised System of Preferences (GSP)
    2. Africa-European Union Strategic Partnership
15. Sudan is not eligible for the AGOA

Trade Facilitation Programs

1. World Customs Organisation (WCO)
   1. Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC)
2. International Bureau of Containers and Intermodal Transport (BIC)
3. International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO, Chicago Convention)
4. International Maritime Organisation (IMO)
5. Sudan is not a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) (in process of accession)

Islamic Organisations

1. Afro-Arab Cooperation
2. Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA)
3. Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)
4. Arab League (LAS)
5. Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
   1. Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC)
   2. Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI)
   3. Islamic Centre for Development of Trade (ICDT)
   4. Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC)
6. Summit of South American-Arab Countries (ASPA)
7. Asia-Middle East Dialogue (AMED)

African Trade and Economic Organisations

1. Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
2. African Union (AU)
   1. African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (not signed)
   2. African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD)
3. African Development Bank (AfDB)
4. Africa-Asia Strategic Partnership (NAASP)
5. Africa-Korea Partnership
6. Africa-Japan Cooperation (TICAD)
7. Africa-India Framework for Cooperation
8. Africa-BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa)
9. Africa-Turkey Partnership
10. Africa-South America Summit (ASA)
11. Forum on China-Africa Cooperation

Global Economic Organisations

1. World Bank (WB)
2. World Trade Organisation (WTO)
3. United Nations (UN)
   1. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
   2. International Trade Centre (INTRACEN)
   3. World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)
4. International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Sudan

Sudan has a privileged situation in the Red Sea, making the “Sudan Arab” a significant international trade centre between East Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Europe through the Suez Canal.

1. Borders of Sudan: Egypt, Libya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Chad, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan.
   1. Sudan shares Maritime borders with Saudi Arabia (Red Sea)
2. Area of Sudan: 1,886,068 square kilometres
3. Sudan is the third largest African country (after Algeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
4. Sudan has a population of 39 million people
5. Arabic and English are the official languages of Sudan
6. Sudan is divided into twenty-five states (wilayat) and 133 districts
7. Khartoum is the capital of Sudan
8. Omdurman is the second largest city in Sudan
9. Largest cities: Khartoum, Port Sudan, Kassala, and El-Obeid
10. Sudan is a federal republic
11. Sudan gained the independence from the United Kingdom and Egypt in 1956
12. Independence of South Soudan from Sudan in 2011

More information about Sudan (EENI African Portal).

Religions in Sudan.

1. Islam is the largest religion in the Republic of Sudan
   1. Islam is the official religion in Sudan
   2. About 97% of the Sudanese population is Sunni Muslim
   3. The Sudanese legal system is based on the English Common law and the Islamic Sharia
   4. Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence): Maliki
2. African Traditional Religions

Sudan belongs to the East African Economic Area (African Civilisation).

Economy of Sudan:

1. Sudan is the only African-Arab nation where the agricultural balance is positive
2. Sudan is rich in natural resources (agricultural and animal production)
3. The Sudanese agricultural sector represents 45% of the total economic growth and 80% of the population is related to this sector
4. 90% of the Sudanese exports are agricultural products: cotton, Arabic gum, cattle, meat, oilseeds, sorghum, vegetables, and fruits
5. The Petroleum extraction is another fundamental pillar of the Sudanese economy
6. Currency of Sudan: Sudanese Pound (SDG)

International Trade of Sudan.

1. Top Sudanese export products are petroleum, benzene, kerosene, natural gas, gold, sesame, cotton, Arabic gum, sugar, meat, peanuts, leather, molasses, livestock, and animal feed
2. Top Sudanese export markets: the Asian markets (79% of the total exports). China is the largest importer of the Sudanese products (60% of the total exports) followed by Singapore, Japan, and South Korea
3. Top Sudanese imports: machinery, foodstuffs, manufactured products, transport, chemicals, and textiles
4. Port Sudan is the largest foreign trade port

They are significant foreign direct investment opportunities in infrastructure and service sectors: Railway, Roads, internal waterways, Civil Aviation, Air transport, seaports, Shipping, and land transport.

SUDAN