Norway has earlier funded a three years project, implemented by the Sudan Antenna of UNESCO, providing capacity-building and training, as well as technical assistance to Sudanese civil society and cultural stakeholders, to enhance dialogue among different communities. The intention has been to strengthen skills and capacity building to protecting the multi-cultural heritage of the country. The aim of the project was to assist the authorities in establishing guidelines for the recognition of the Sudanese cultural diversity, empower the national system and assist the national, regional and local authorities in creating professional profiles and job opportunities in the field of preservation and promotion of intangible heritage. Assist the authorities in devising and formulating a comprehensive long-term programme to protect, promote and enhance the national cultural heritage.
The Minister and the ambassador discussed possible further Sudanese-Norwegian cooperation in cultural heritage preservation and how to tap the potential for tourism in Sudan. Sudan with all its memorable sites of pyramids, in fact in number higher than Egypt’s, from the 14th Dynasty, as well as the Port Sudan littoral and the Nile passing through the whole length of Sudan, gives numerous opportunities to build a profitable tourist industry. It was agreed to explore possible areas of cooperation both in private sector cooperation and government to government.