India's relations with Southern Sudan

An Indian friend who is active in this field wrote to me some time ago as follows, about an event at the House of Lords in the UK, where he was invited to speak:

"There was much interest from both aid agencies and business from the UK.
What saddens me is that this is a wonderful opportunity for Indian SMEs to step in and offer our brand of cost effective solutions that Sudan (and many other parts of Africa) so desperately need.
There are already some Indians from Uganda and Kenya moving in but they are perceived to be traders and profiteers.
I have given a number of talks in Bangalore and elsewhere to sensitize the business community to this fantastic opportunity to profit while helping to develop this war torn country that is limping back to normal.

It would really help if the Indian Government had a presence in Juba and if we could obtain travel permits to Southern Sudan here in India".

As I had promised to take up the last point, I wrote to the Indian Ambassador in Sudan (who used to be a fellow-student while we were at University) but I had no response - perhaps he was too busy or uninterested? Or is the Indian Embassy there as inefficient as most of our Embassies seem to be? Alternatively, is the topic felt to be such a hot potato that he did not want to even acknowledge receipt of my message?

If the latter, it would be a bit surprising as it is clear that Southern Sudan will opt for independence when the referendum is held in the next few months. Why not anticipate matters for once, and build relations with this emerging new country - with whom, as ourselves a country with experience of being colonised, we should be sympathetic? Sphere: Related Content