Let’s look at Sudan from a different perspective! – Interview with the leader of the Sudan Trade Office, Mohamed Salaheldin Hag Ali

Usually, when a non-European country is interested in Hungary, it first opens an embassy in Budapest, and then – given that the cooperation is successful – opens cultural and trade centres in the capital city. But in the case of Sudan, things happened the other way around, GLOBS Magazine said.

The Trade Office opened in Budapest in 2011, under the aegis of the Viennese Embassy at the time. But the attaché, Mohamed Salaheldin Hag Ali, and his team did such a great job that the government of Khartoum decided to lay bigger emphasis on relations with Hungary in the future. Thanks to them, two hundred Sudanese patients were cured in Hungarian hospitals in the past years.

Moreover, several grand Hungarian investments were launched in the heart of Africa, and the negotiations regarding a Budapest-Khartoum direct flight have already started.

I talked about the challenges and successes of the past years with Attaché Hag Ali.

GLOBS: How can a Sudanese boy get to the point of organising ministerial meetings in Hungary? What is your secret?
Hag Ali: I was very young when I first arrived in Hungary 25 years ago. First I studied at the University of Medicine and then I switched to the agricultural study programme of the Szent István University, where I graduated in 1994. After this, I shifted towards politics back at home, until I was asked to establish an economic-diplomatic representation in Budapest in 2011. This is how I returned.

GLOBS: What were the main difficulties in the beginning? How welcoming were the economic actors?
Hag Ali: I wouldn’t call them difficulties. Our governments agreed to deepen their relation, so the intent was not missing at all. The problem was mostly posed by the distrust of Hungarian decision-makers towards Africa. They were afraid of the different culture and traditions. We didn’t have to convince them, only show them the reality. From that moment on, everyone seemed to be much more open.

GLOBS: What makes the Hungarian and Sudanese economic environment so different?
Hag Ali: In Europe, the emphasis is mainly laid on well-trained workforce, punctuality and precision, while traditions, relationships and trust are much more important in our culture. It was a bit difficult to make everyone understand this. This is why I tell all companies and investors who contact us that I’d like to invite them to Sudan so that they can see the country for themselves. And I am serious about this.

Many people have visited our capital, Khartoum, and 90% of them started negotiating right after. This is the key to success.

GLOBS: Even though the American economic embargo was recently dissolved, the Sudanese leadership remains more of a tolerated than accepted actor for western societies. However, the Hungarian government has opened towards the African country several times in the past period. The Sudanese Foreign Minister visited Budapest, while a Hungarian delegation visited Khartoum in the beginning of December. The latter was labelled by certain media as “the Hungarian government is negotiating with dictatorships”. Aren’t these stigmatisations disturbing? Don’t you feel like you’re going against the grain?
Hag Ali: The press is free in Hungary, so journalists can write whatever they feel like writing. I think that this is much more of an interior political question and the media is not attacking Sudan because they know it. Therefore, I can only recommend them to visit our country and to don’t draw conclusions form information found on the internet. It wouldn’t hurt if they were finally a bit more prepared and realised that Africa is actually developing at a fast pace. They also criticised the trading houses claiming that they were empty, but our relationship with the office in Khartoum is very good, they are doing an amazing job. They help and facilitate many Hungarian investments, so hats off to them! There will always be unsatisfied people.

GLOBS: The Foreign Minister was very proud that the two governments agreed in the issue of immigration. What does this mean exactly?
Hag Ali: The Sudanese leadership closed the norther borders of the country years ago to help restrain migration. Just like Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, we believe that problems need to be solved locally. Africa needs to implement infrastructural changes and improve the quality of life so that people don’t want to leave their countries. Since it’s not good for us either if our people emigrate.