Port Sudan: Sudan has said it will host Russia’s first navy base in Africa, as soon as the country completes a transition from military to civilian rule. Local tribal leaders are opposed to a foreign military presence.
PORT SUDAN MARCH 14: Sudan has said it will host Russia’s first navy base in Africa, despite opposition from the West, as soon as the country completes a transition from military to civilian rule. But while some Sudanese support the business that a base would bring, local tribal leaders are opposed to a foreign military presence. Henry Wilkins reports from Port Sudan, Sudan.
Talks about a potential naval base began back in 2019 when the Sudanese authorities gave permission for Russian ships to call at Sudanese ports. The agreement was signed in secret, and was not announced until 2021.
In 2020, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced that the Russian Navy would begin construction on a base with capacity for 300 personnel and four warships in Port Sudan. The facility would prove Russia with a naval base in the nation for at least 25 years. The plan was ultimately suspended, though Sudanese leadership indicated that it is possible for the construction to go forward in the future.
Following the October–November 2021 Sudanese coup d’état, the Beja tribal council initiated a weeklong blockade of the city’s ports. Following negotiations with military officials, the blockade was lifted.
Port Sudan was built between 1905 and 1909 by the administration of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan to replace Suakin. An oil pipeline was built between the port and Khartoum in 1977.
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