World Bank Group visits Sudan
2018 30 Oct | Uncategorized
A delegation from the World Bank Group from Washington, headed by Mr. Manju Haththotuwa, head of the delegation , Mr. Martin Norman, Senior Development Specialist and Ms. Esta, Private Sector, Finance and Competition manager visited Garri Free Zone with the Deputy Secretary General of the National Council for Free Zones and Duty Free Shops, Nasser El-Din Abdel Salam, Director of Operations, Mr. Montasir Khaled El-Siddiq and the Legal Advisor of the World Bank Group in Sudan Ms. Nafesa Omer Abdelati.
The delegation was accompanied by a number of employees from the National Council for Free Zones and Duty Free Shops . The delegation evaluated the progress of work and obstacles .The project is operated by the Sudanese Free Zones and Markets co. SFZ .
The delegation also held a meeting focused on the activities of the free zones in Garri Free Zone and the Red Sea Free Zone .
The meeting further discussed the proposed free zone projects under implementation or those under economic and technical feasibility studies.
Garri Free Zone has introduced a film showing the workflow systems within the free zones and the one-stop policy in the presence of visitors and the relevant organs such as customs, Sudan Metrology and Standards organization, banks, Agricultural Quarantine , insurance companies and logistic operations as well as the activities available within the zone.
Members of the consultancy committee in the Free Zone were also present , the representative of customs, investors representative Mr. Muawiya Ateeq, representative of banks Mr. Ahmed Abdel Mohsen and the representative of the customs clearance agent attended the meeting and shared the problems of the availability of foreign exchange, remittances, financing, re-exports, increase of customs duties and the disputes of government policies with the law and regulations of free zones, especially the Bank of Sudan and the Ministry of Commerce, as well as the shortcomings of the Free Zones Law.
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The outcomes of the Meeting are as follows:-
- Revising the Free Zones Law and identifying the problems and obstacles that hinder the workflow and proposing appropriate solutions at the expense of the World Bank Group.
- Assessing the proposed projects, especially the Free Port Project in the Red Sea and the ways of financing it.
- Establishing a Free Agricultural Zone specialized in processing natural resources.
- Providing technical support services, logistics, training and capacity building to existing free zones staff.
- In conclusion, the delegation visited the warehouses and open storage areas and Rama Plastic Industries Factory. The delegation of the World Bank Group appreciated the role of the Public Private Sector Partnership as of SFZ, the organization and the good arrangement of the visit, as well as the abundance of information and its submission.