Qatar, Sudan discuss archaeological project

The joint higher committee of the agreement on archaeological cooperation between Qatar and Sudan on Thursday met at the Museum of Islamic Art to discuss future plans for the project and review what has been achieved so far. Speaking to QNA after the meeting, chairman of the Sudanese-Qatari antiquities project Abdullah Al-Najar said the meeting endorsed a number of decisions that accelerate the implementation of the archaeological missions’ camps at the areas of archaeological explorations in the Sudanese states of the Nile River and North, with this phase set to finish in the last quarter of 2012. He added that the Qatari-Sudanese archaeological project supports the work of 27 archaeological global missions, and includes the establishment of a museum in the area of Naqa, the development and renovation of the National Museum of Sudan in Khartoum, as well as supporting the Qatari archaeological mission, which is working on the development of Meroe pyramids. Al-Najar noted that the $135-million project came after an agreement between the two countries based on the directives of HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, stressing the touristic and archaeological significance of the five-year project for the two countries. For his part, Sudanese Minister of Tourism, Antiquities and Wildlife Mohamed Abdul Karim Al Hodd hailed the deep relations between Qatar and Sudan in the archaeological and touristic field. He noted that Sudan is set to hold for the first time a five-day global exhibition for tourism and shopping on April 8, with the participation of Qatar Museums Authority, Qatari companies working in the field of tourism, as well as international companies from Arab and foreign countries.