Sudan adopts Turkish economic success as model, Sudanese Vice President says

Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Taha has claimed that the Sudanese government takes Turkey as a model for its country due to Turkey's recent economic breakthrough. Visiting Turkey as one of the foreign dignitaries attending the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) congress in Ankara, the long-serving vice president -- a major figure in the government of President Omar al-Bashir -- told Today's Zaman, "We aspire to implement this [Turkish model] if it will also advance our economy." Praising Turkish humanitarian and economic development efforts in his country, Taha also invited Turkish businesspeople to make more investments in Sudan, mentioning a number of opportunities in terms of agriculture, food industry and mining. "The doors of Sudan are wide open for more Turkish investments," said Taha, claiming that Turkey has already made an important difference in Sudan in terms of building roads, airports and other infrastructure projects. Taha also praised the work of a Turkish state-of-the-art medical facility with a 150-bed capacity in Nyala, the state of South Darfur's capital. Utilities such as water and electricity are being supplied by the local government, while Turkey is assuming the construction and operating costs of the facility. Meanwhile, Bashir could not attend the AK Party's historic congress, due to continuing peace negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan, the now-separate nations which came to the brink of war with each other last year. Bashir and South Sudanese President Salva Kiir have engaged in peace talks monitored by the African Union (AU) and the UN in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and are contemplating signing a peace deal in order to prevent the possible outbreak of another war between the nations.