Turkey to rebuild ruined Ottoman port city on Red Sea coast

Turkey is set to rebuild a ruined Ottoman port city on Sudan's Red Sea coast and construct a naval dock to maintain civilian and military vessels.

Local media quoted Sudan's foreign minister, who said this on Tuesday.

Turkey Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour said that the restoration at Suakin was agreed during a visit to the ancient port by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.

Erdogan added that Turkey had been temporarily granted part of Suakin so it could rebuild the area as a tourist site and a transit point for pilgrims crossing the Red Sea to Mecca.

He said the Suakin deal was worth 650 million dollars in total, agreed with Sudan.

The countries also agreed "to build a dock to maintain civilian and military vessels," Ghandour told reporters, adding that they had signed an agreement "that could result in any kind of military cooperation."

Suakin was Sudan's major port when it was ruled by the Ottoman Empire, but fell into disuse over the last century after the construction of Port Sudan, 35 miles (60 km) to the north.