South Sudan will not deter New Delhi from future
business opportunities in the region, its foreign
minister said in Khartoum Tuesday.
State-owned ONGC Videsh Ltd, a partner in two
joint oil production companies in South Sudan,
announced on December 26 that the firms had
temporarily halted operations because of
deteriorating security.
The Indian firm has also invested in oil pipelines in
Sudan.
"I will certainly persuade them that they must raise
the level of their ambitions and their determination
to continue with business here," External Affairs
Minister Salman Khurshid told AFP in an interview
on the first day of an official visit to Khartoum.
The oil company's facilities in South Sudan suffered
"a bit of damage… nothing irreparable," an Indian
official said.
"This is part of life," Khurshid told AFP.
"I think ONGC are a determined lot of people, and
they are very experienced, and the government
supports them, so, whatever be the problems that
they have suffered, I'm quite clear in my mind that
they intend to move forward."
Since mid-December, soldiers loyal to South Sudan
President Salva Kiir have been battling rebel troops
and militia who back his sacked vice president Riek
Machar.
India's demand for crude is growing
India had about $2.3 billion invested in Sudan's
petroleum sector before South Sudan's
independence in July 2011.
The exact value north of the border after the
separation is difficult to determine.
South Sudan split with about 75 percent of united
Sudan's oil production but pipelines and the Red
Sea export terminal remained in the north.
India is one of the world's five biggest emerging
economies and oil is its biggest import.
Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid
(R), receives an honorific doctorate from Sadiq
Its demand is expected to grow at 2.7 percent a
year up to 2040 — well above the global rate of 1.7
percent.
Last September, Khurshid said he had visited Iraq
and Saudi Arabia to push energy ties, and he told
energy firms to be more adventurous in searching
for global oil supplies.
Sudan is the final stop on his regional tour that
included Morocco and Tunisia.
In Khartoum, he told reporters that India is
evaluating the petroleum potential of two blocs in
Sudan.
He was to meet later with executives of the oil firm,
followed by talks Wednesday with Sudan's Oil
Minister Makawi Mohammed Awad.
Khurshid praised the patience and wisdom which
he said Sudan has shown in dealing with the South
Sudan war. Khartoum belongs to an East African
bloc which brokered a shaky ceasefire deal last
month.
"Our concern mainly is that we don't want
uncertainty of any kind to become a question mark
on the relationship that we have with Sudan," he
told AFP, adding that his visit will be a positive
message to Indian industry.
"When I get back, we will certainly advocate the
cause for investment in Sudan," which offers
potential for mineral exploration and can also be "a
stepping stone" to the larger African market.
"We are here to stay. We are here to develop and
grow and we are here to help our partner Sudan."
India sees two-way trade with Sudan reaching $1
billion (741 million euros) by the end of the
2013-2014 financial year, Khurshid said during the
first-ever visit to Sudan by an Indian foreign
minister.
The two nations, both formerly ruled by Britain,
have long-standing ties.
India is the second-largest exporter to Sudan after
China, which is also a major investor in the Sudan-
South Sudan oil sector and in Africa generally.
Asked whether his North African tour is part of an
effort to counter-balance Beijing, he said China is in
some places a partner, in others a competitor or
complementary.
"We don't see China as an adversary," he said.
Sent From David Aniemeka
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