Erdogan signs military, economic accords on first visit to Sudan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan landed in Khartoum on Sunday and met his Sudanese counterpart Omar 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, Erdogan told a news conference.

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

Sudan's economy has been struggling since the south seceded in 2011, taking with it three-quarters of the country's oil output. In recent years, Turkey has boosted investments in Sudan.

Bashir hailed the trip by Erdogan, who is to travel on to Chad and Tunisia, as an "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 Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

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