Sudan and Libya agree to combat smuggling

December 21, 2014-Khartoum-SudaneseOnline-Sudan’s Northern State and Libya’s Kufra city agreed on combating smuggling and security challenges, as well as activating the border trade between them. The meeting between the officials of the two areas recommended the need for coordination between the two parties during the next phase.
The joint meeting concluded that the need for coordination between Sudan’s Northern State and Kufra province to combat smuggling.
According to Sudan News Agency (SUNA) the meeting called for importance of coordination to unify customs duties between the two countries.
Sudan has called for more support for its efforts to combat human trafficking in the Horn of Africa region, expressing its commitment to participate in regional and international efforts to fight the trans-national crime.
Last October Khartoum hosted a meeting aimed at combating human trafficking organized by the African Union (AU) in collaboration with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and the Sudanese government.
The meeting was attended by ministerial delegations from 15 countries and a large delegation from the European Union, with the US government also represented by its deputy chargé d’affaires in Khartoum.
Sudan’s vice-president, Hasabo Abdel Rahman, and interior minister Ismat Abdel Rahman participated in the opening of the ministerial meeting held on the fourth day of the conference before the adoption of a joint strategy and action plan.
The vice-president reiterated the Sudanese government’s commitment to combat human trafficking and expressed Sudan’s readiness to cooperate with neighboring countries and the international community to end the practice.