Sudan and Qatar Agree to Activate Joint Committee and Designate Direct Contact Points
The Minister of Human Resources and Social Welfare, Mutasim Ahmed Saleh, met yesterday in Geneva with the Qatari Minister of Labor, Dr. Ali bin Samikh Al-Marri, on the sidelines of the 114th session of the International Labour Conference.
The Minister expressed Sudan’s appreciation for Qatar’s supportive stances towards the Sudanese people, praising the humanitarian and developmental role that Qatari institutions, foremost among them Qatar Charity, have played over the past years and under the current circumstances facing the country. The Minister reviewed Sudan’s priorities during the recovery and reconstruction phase, emphasizing the need for effective partnerships in the areas of vocational training, skills development, trainer qualification, and curriculum development, in addition to supporting institutional transformation, developing the civil service, and strengthening the capacities of national institutions. The meeting also addressed Sudan’s needs in the areas of rehabilitating vocational training centers and health centers affiliated with the National Health Insurance Fund, supporting basic services in camps for internally displaced persons, and entrepreneurship and small business programs targeting youth.
In a significant step towards activating institutional cooperation, both sides agreed to activate the joint committee stipulated in the cooperation agreement between the two countries’ labor ministries and to designate contact points to follow up on implementation. The Qatari side designated the Director of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Labor as the contact point, while the Sudanese side designated the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Welfare for the same purpose.
For his part, the Qatari Minister of Labor affirmed his country’s keenness to strengthen cooperation with Sudan, directing the commencement of the joint committee’s work. He also called for the preparation of priority projects supported by technical studies and cost estimates, in order to consider ways to support and implement them. He extended an invitation to the Sudanese Minister of Human Resources and Social Welfare to visit Doha in the near future to follow up on the implementation of these projects.
Both sides emphasized the importance of building upon the distinguished fraternal relations between Sudan and Qatar and transforming the agreed-upon areas of cooperation into practical programs and projects that contribute to supporting recovery, reconstruction, and human resource development efforts in Sudan. The meeting was attended by the Permanent Representative of Sudan to the United Nations and International Organizations in Geneva, Ambassador Hassan Hamid Hassan, along with a number of members of the Permanent Mission and officials from both sides.