Making the first trip by a Turkish president to Sudan, Erdogan said Turkey had been temporarily granted part of Suakin so it could rebuild the area as a tourist site and a transit point for pilgrims crossing the Red Sea to Mecca.

Turkey’s recent breakthroughs on international area continues bearing its fruits. After Qatar and Somalia bases, Suakin Island will be joined as a base to Turkey’s military forces.

According to Sudan's Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour, Turkey will reconstruct a ruined Suakin port city on Sudan's Red Sea coast, which has been temporarily handed over to Ankara so that the country could restore it as a tourist attraction and a transit point for pilgrims traveling to Mecca as announced by President Erdogan earlier.

The restoration at Suakin was agreed during a visit to the ancient port by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour said. He said the Suakin deal was one of several, worth $650 million in total, agreed with Sudan, which emerged from two decades of US sanctions in October and is seeking to attract international investment.

The countries also agreed “to build a dock to maintain civilian and military vessels,” Ghandour told reporters, adding that they had signed an agreement “that could result in any kind of military cooperation”.

IMPORTANCE OF SUKAIN PORT

The ancient Red Sea Suakin port was Sudan's major harbor when it was ruled by the Ottoman Empire. Island has loom large strategically. It’s located right across holy city, Mecca, where pilgrims go to perform Umrah.

NOT ONLY A MILITARY BASE

In addition to Island’s strategic significance, Turkey will find opportunity to make military intervention to gulf region in case of an emergency. Among the countries which Suakin Island neighbouring, the most important countries are Qatar and Somalia. According to a map drawing to specify its strategic significance, it can be clearly seen that island rules over 1 billion 689 thousand square kilometer area. It’s sayable that a “power triangle”was formed.

TURKEY’S INTERNATIONAL POWER

With Suakin, Turkey obtained another important “station”. As is known, there are Turkish Armed Forces bases in Qatar and Somalia where ammunition transfers consistently performs.