In First Visit to Sudan, Turkey’s Erdogan Signs Accords

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan launched a trip to Sudan to meet with his Sudanese counterpart Omar al-Bashir in defiance of the international calls to distance from the controversial leader who is sought for war crimes and genocide.

The Turkish president landed in Khartoum on Sunday and met with Mr. al-Bashir at the start of a three-country African tour.

Twelve accords were signed at the outset of his two-day visit to Khartoum, including economic and military deals as well as on the creation of a strategic cooperation council, President Erdogan told a news conference.

He said the two Muslim countries aimed at boost two-way trade from the current level of $500 million a year to $1 billion in an initial stage and then $10 billion.

Bashir hailed the trip by Erdogan, who is to travel on to Chad and Tunisia, as a “historic” first visit to Sudan by a Turkish president.

Sudan’s leader, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide and war crimes in the strife-torn Darfur region, earlier this month attended a summit in Istanbul of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

Mr. Erdogan called on those at the summit to condemn U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition on December 6 of the disputed city of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.