India seeks to strengthen bilateral tie with South Sudan

By Charles Lotara
The government of India is seeking to strengthen bilateral relations with South Sudan after a conclave organized by a senior Indian diplomat drew together senior South Sudanese government officials in charge of commerce and trade in the country.
Last week, the Indian Embassy organized a secret meeting between the South Sudanese government officials, Chamber of Commerce and Indian Business Community in Juba to draw a roadmap on how to promote trade between the two countries.
The meeting chaired by Indian Ambassador to South Sudan S.D Moorthy, also featured Dr. Abraham Malut Mamer, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Investment, Director Generals Mr. Stephen Matatia Gaji and Mary Akech Milla from the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Representatives of the National and Central Equatoria Chambers of Commerce, as well as office bearers of South Sudan Agricultural Producers Union and Indian business community members.
In his address during the Indaba, Moorthy stressed the need for strong bilateral relations between the two countries for the betterment of their citizens and economic development.
The Indian official says since the formation of the new unity government, the necessity of enhancing the trade volume between the two countries has been realized to carry forward the trade promotion activities.
The Ministry of Investment hailed India in terms of progress on Information Technology, Agriculture, Education, and Health sectors assuring the Ambassador of a hassle-free facilities to prospective Indian investors to set up their businesses in the country.
Stephen Matia, Director General in the Ministry of Trade and Industry highlighted that tanneries, food and fruits processing and vocational training centres are still untapped and recommended that potential investors seize the opportunity to invest in those sectors.
In a show of support, the representatives of Chambers of Commerce offered their services and support to promote Indians’ investment in South Sudan.
Richard Raja, Co-founder and Director of Trinity Energy Limited revealed how his company is promoting trade between the two countries, urging the Embassy to encourage Indian businessmen to visit South Sudan to explore possibilities to set up their business ventures in the country.
Chairperson of Indian Association in South Sudan Mr. Raviprakash revealed that the Indian community is taking all possible steps to encourage Indian investment in South Sudan to create employment opportunities for South Sudan nationals.
The participants appealed to the Indian Embassy to offer more capacity-building training courses for South Sudanese nationals in the field of computers, entrepreneurship and management studies.
Moorthy proposed to setup an Indo-South Sudan Business Forum as a platform for supporting business ventures from both countries. The participants suggested that this type of interaction should be held on regular basis for exchanging ideas and strengthening the trade relationship between India and South Sudan.