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Sudan's Foreign Minister Mohieldin Salim Ahmed Ibrahim, who is in the national capital for the second India-Arab Foreign Ministers' meeting, which kicks off on Saturday, has underscored Sudan's post-war reconstruction needs.
Speaking to ANI, Ibrahim said he would brief participants on Sudan's situation and investment opportunities, with a focus on business forum meetings with Indian investors and ministers. "We are going to brief those who are participating in this meeting about the situation in Sudan and the investment opportunities, especially after the war. The reconstruction of Sudan needs quite a lot of work to be done. We are going to have a business forum meeting with investors and ministers in India," he said. Sudan's post-war reconstruction is a monumental task focusing on restoring basic services, rebuilding destroyed urban centres, and reforming an economy long dominated by military interests. While full-scale reconstruction is stalled by ongoing conflict in many regions, localised efforts and strategic planning are already underway as of early 2026. Sudan's civil war, waged between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), erupted on April 15, 2023, plunging the country into chaos. Following the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) recapture of the capital in early 2025, efforts have begun to clear unexploded ordnance, remove rubble, and restore essential services such as water and electricity. The United Nations estimates that rebuilding Khartoum's infrastructure alone will cost at least $350 million. Sudan is actively seeking investment from partners such as India to rebuild infrastructure and trade networks, as highlighted at the India-Arab Foreign Ministers' Meeting. Ibrahim recently urged Indian investors to explore opportunities in rebuilding, emphasising long-standing bilateral ties. Key sectors include logistics (Red Sea ports), mining, and agriculture. Sudan is strengthening economic ties with India, with a focus on pharmaceuticals, infrastructure, and capacity building. Plans are underway to establish an India-Sudan Joint Business Council and Business Forum. Local initiatives are underway to restore damaged infrastructure, including the National Theatre and football stadiums. The second India-Arab Foreign Ministers' Meeting (IAFMM) is now expected to build on this existing framework, with a focus on expanding and deepening the partnership. The meeting is being convened after a gap of 10 years, with the first IAFMM held in Bahrain in 2016. This dialogue platform is the highest institutional mechanism driving India-Arab cooperation, formalised in March 2002 when India and the League of Arab States signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish it. Further strengthening this framework, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed to establish the Arab-India Cooperation Forum during the visit of the then Arab League Secretary General Amre Moussa to India in December 2008, and was subsequently revised in 2013 to reflect a revised structural organisation. India is an Observer to the League of Arab States, a pan-Arab body with 22 member states. (ANI)
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