p The Sudan became a sovereign state on 1 January 1956 and the Soviet Union promptly recognised this new Arab republic. Back in 1947 the USSR supported a proposal that was submitted in the UN to abrogate the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 on a condominium in the Sudan, grant it the right to self-determination and get Britain pull its colonial troops out of the country. The Soviet Union actively worked to create favourable conditions for the all-round development of Soviet-Sudanese relations on the basis of equality and mutual benefit.

p In 1961 the Soviet Union and the Sudan signed an intergovernmental agreement on economic and technical cooperation in keeping with which Soviet foreign trade organisations helped the Sudan build several major economic projects. The same year a Soviet state delegation led by Leonid Brezhnev, Chairman of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet, visited the Sudan. This visit disclosed the objective coincidence of Soviet and Sudanese views on cardinal issues of international relations and helped broaden the links between the two countries.

p The foreign policy section of the programme which was proclaimed by the Sudanese Government that came to power as a result of the 25 May 1969 coup in Khartoum proclaimed the need to broaden cooperation with the Soviet Union and other socialist countries. This new foreign policy course was widely supported by the Sudanese people and strengthened Soviet-Sudanese relations. Trade turnover increased substantially, and machines and eqtiipment essential for the Sudan’s economic development comprised a considerable portion of Soviet exports to that country. Soviet-Sudanese cooperation in prospecting for minerals, particularly in the Red Sea Hills, broadened.

p Contacts between Soviet and Sudanese statesmen and politicians promoted the development of relations and cooperation between the two countries. Sudanese President and Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council Gaafar M. Nimeri visited the Soviet Union on two occasions, and high-ranking Soviet delegations visited the Sudan.

p In nn interview given 1o the newspaper Al-Ayam on 104 21 January 1975 the then Foreign Minister of the Sudan Mansour Khaled said: "The Sudan has good relations with the Soviet Union. They attest to the mutual respect of both countries, and we strive to deepen them in the interest of the Sudanese and Soviet peoples.”

p But there were reactionary forces in the Sudan which wanted to undermine Sudanese-Soviet relations. They made every effort to do this to please the imperialist powers, certain reactionary regimes in the Arab countries and Maoist China. Such efforts on the part of the pro-imperialist forces and reactionary elements are not supported by the Sudanese people.

p In 1960 the Islamic Republic of Mauritania proclaimed independence. Mauritania is a small Arab country with a population of 1,500,000. A large part of it lies in the Sahara. From its colonial past it inherited a complex of intricate socio-economic, ethnic and cultural problems.

p Cooperation with the USSR markedly contributes to the Mauritanian Government’s efforts to achieve economic and social progress. In 1964 a Mauritanian good-will mission visited the Soviet Union, and a Soviet economic delegation visited Mauritania. In 1965 the Soviet Union and the Islamic Republic of Mauritania exchanged embassies and also agreed to promote trade and scientific, technical and cultural cooperation.

p In October 1966 a Soviet-Mauritanian trade agreement was signed in Moscow and then an agreement on fisheries and air service. The Soviet Union helped Mauritania train national specialists, and prospect for natural resources.

p A Soviet Parliamentary delegation visited Mauritania in January 1970. Welcoming the guests, Deputy President of the National Assembly said that the Mauritanian people did not cease to admire the Soviet Union’s grandiose gains in all spheres of political, economic, social and cultural life, that these gains were a result of the creative labour of the Soviet people and expert guidance by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Soviet Government.

The contacts between the CPSU and the Party of the Mauritanian People which were established in 1967 did much to strengthen the links between the USSR and Mauritania. In his speech the head of the Mauritanian party delegation at the 24th CPSU Congress spoke very highly of the CPSU’s international activity.

The development of relations between the USSR and the Arab countries of North Africa is in keeping with their vital interests. It also contributes to the attainment of a just political settlement of the Middle East crisis on the basis of withdrawal of Israeli troops from all Arab territories seized in June 1967, and guaranteed national rights of the Arab people of Palestine, including the right to form their own state. It helps the Arab countries to consolidate their independence and promote economic growth.