Regarding the agreement on the use of 793 thousand hectares of land in Sudan, Minister of Food, Agriculture and Livestock Mr. Faruk Çelik stated "We will initiate the required procedure for ensuring Turkish enterprises and companies to make production in a land bigger than Aksaray Province".
Minister Çelik met with the Minister for Agriculture and Forestry of Sudan Mr. İbrahim Al Duheyri at his office. Stating that Sudan is a brother country for Turkey, Minister Çelik added that relations between both countries go on in a positive manner in every field. Referring to the contribution of discussions to the process, Minister Çelik reported "Construction and operation of a hospital in Darfur-Nyala Region indicates the level of friendly relations between Turkey and Sudan. Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency continues its technical collaboration with Sudan".
Minister Çelik underlined the importance of meeting with respect to deeper and faster evaluation of works carried out so far.
"Food products will increase by 40 percent"
Minister Çelik stated that 793 thousand hectares of land in Sudan will be put into operation under the Directorate General of Agricultural Enterprises (TİGEM). 12 thousand and 500 hectares of this land, Minister Çelik added, will be used as sample enterprise by TİGEM. Then, Turkish enterprises and companies will make investment for production there.
According to recent reports by Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), food products will increase by 40 percent in the last 10 years. In this way, importance of agriculture could be seen more clearly. Developed countries hire lands in other countries for extending agricultural production in the world. In this framework, Turkey and Sudan will sign an agreement for hiring a land of 793 thousand hectares in Sudan for 99 years by Turkey. The agreement will minimize the import of certain agricultural products, in particular oily seeds.
"Turkey is a strategically important partner"
Minister of Agriculture and Forestry of Sudan Mr. İbrahim Al Duheyri stated that Turkey is a strategically important partner for their country, especially in agriculture sector.
Mr. Duheyri added "I have served as the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry for 5 months. We have delegations at Ministerial level working in agriculture field. I am making observations and working hard with my delegation for the completion of pending issues. I visited the honorable Minister today for accelerating the procedures thereof. We are ready to make our best for initiating and continuing the significant relations with Turkish partners.
"We should approach to the event in a calm manner"
Upon the questions about Russian controls and restrictions on food import due to shooting down of Russian aircraft, Minister Çelik reported "Rooted relations between Turkey and Russia are well known by the World. Aircraft event experienced recently made all of us sad. All countries should provide its security. The issue of security is of great importance for all countries. International law and rules are so clear. The event should not be handled in terms of emotional, sensational perspective.
Turkey exports agricultural products of 1 billion and 270 million dollars to Russia annually and makes an import of 2 billion and 850 million dollars. Instead of finding a fault regarding the issue, the issue should be assessed out of emotional approaches. The issue should not affect import, export, trade and economy between the two countries. Not only Turkish farmers, but also Russian farmers will be affected badly by unfavorable attitudes. Therefore, we should be calm for the benefit of both countries. "
Regarding the questions about food embargo towards Turkey, Minister Çelik stated that Turkey has not received officially any concrete decision from Russian Side. The event is being evaluated by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economy. I hope that the vent will not affect other relations between the two countries and will be solved in good sense.