Alwaght- Turkey plans to construct a naval dock to maintain civilian and military vessels in Sudan’s Red Sea coast after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the country.
Speaking on Tuesday, Sudan's Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour said the restoration of ruined Ottoman port city of Suakin on Sudan’s Red Sea coast Suakin and construction of the naval dock was agreed during a visit to the ancient port by Erdogan. Making the first trip by a Turkish president to Sudan, Erdogan said Turkey had been temporarily granted part of Suakin so it could rebuild the area as a tourist site and a transit point for pilgrims crossing the Red Sea to Mecca.
The countries also agreed “to build a dock to maintain civilian and military vessels,” Ghandour told reporters, adding that they had signed an agreement “that could result in any kind of military cooperation”.
The agreements come three months after Turkey formally opened a $50 million military training base in Somalia as it exerts increasing influence in the region.
Suakin was Sudan’s major port when it was ruled by the Ottoman Empire, but fell into disuse over the last century after the construction of Port Sudan, 35 miles (60 km) to the north.
Speaking on Monday in Khartoum, Erdogan said the refurbished port city would attract Mecca-bound pilgrims who would want to see the island’s history, helping Sudan’s tourism sector.
