Qatar intends to build Red Sea port in Sudan

CAIRO- 21 November 2017: MP Osama Sharshar called for Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Minister of Investment Sahar Nasr to take action against Qatar’s intention to transform the Port Sudan into a logistics area aiming to disrupt Egypt’s Suez Canal.

Sudanese newspapers mentioned that Qatar, whose investments in Sudan reach around $4 billion, intends to build the largest port on the Red Sea in Sudan to disrupt logistics services at the Suez Canal and East of Tafria.

Sudanese Finance Minister Mohamed Osman said he held talks with his Qatari counterpart, signing numerous agreements for joint projects in various fields that would push the Sudanese economy forward, as mentioned in Qatar Tribune.

Since the ousting of former President Mohammed Morsi in 2013 due to his affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood, Qatar has mobilized its media outlets to attack the Egyptian government and hosts a number of Muslim Brotherhood leaders who fled Egypt.

On June 5, Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Libya and Yemen decided to cut all diplomatic ties with Qatar, hurling allegations that the state supports terrorism. Ports and airspaces were cut off to all Qatari vessels.

The Arab countries listed 13 demands to be met by Qatar, including severing ties with terrorist groups, closing the pan-Arab Al-Jazeera satellite channel, downgrading ties with Iran and closing down the Turkish air base in Qatar.

Since then, Doha’s economy continues to deteriorate as the banking sector, GDP growth, stock market and available assets for investment are hit hard by the Arab Quartet's four-month boycott. The 2022 FIFA World Cup is considered to be one of the ways Qatar intends to attempt reviving its economy.