Sudan on Wednesday reaffirmed its commitment to deepen bilateral relations with Nigeria in the aviation sector.

The Sudanese ambassador to Nigeria, Mohamed Abdelmannan, made the reaffirmation when he spoke with journalists in Abuja.

He noted that while Sudan-Nigeria diplomatic relations were established since Nigeria’s independence in 1960, cooperation between both countries would deepen through air transportation to achieve more meaningful growth.

“We are working to have direct flights between Nigeria and Sudan in this regard. We have a direct flight from Khartoum to Kano, but we do not have a flight from Nigeria to Sudan,” stated Mr Abdelmannan.

The Sudanese ambassador added, “We are working to have direct flights for passengers and cargo between Khartoum and Abuja, and negotiation is ongoing between Sudanese civil aviation and Nigerian civil aviation authorities.”

Mr Abdelmannan said a licence was issued to a Nigerian carrier, Nissers Sky AirPower, to fly between Abuja and Khartoum.

“This will also boost relations between Sudan and Nigeria and ease traffic between people of both countries,” said Mr Abdelmannan. “We are part of this continent; solving any problem between us can bring about meaningful growth across Africa.”

The envoy also said that in educational relations with Nigeria, about 10,000 Nigerians are currently studying in Sudanese universities.

He said there was also the possibility of cooperation in oil and gas.

“Nigeria is an oil-producing country, and Sudan also has little quantity of oil production, so cooperation in this field can be mutually beneficial,” Mr Abdelmannan stressed. “Also, human resources development between the two countries can deepen cooperation to improve capacities of people in all fields of relations between both countries.”

He said measures were also being implemented to promote cultural exchanges between the two countries.

“Nigerians are always welcome in Sudan, not only as traders and businessmen but can also go as tourists. There are many tourist sites in Sudan,” the Sudanese envoy added. “We expect Nigerians to participate in Sudanese exhibitions such as the Khartoum trade fair. We invite Nigerian businessmen and women and companies to the trade fair.”

(NAN)