China launches Sudan's first ever satellite: official

It was launched on Sunday from north China's Shanxi Province

KHARTOUM: Sudan's first-ever satellite for conducting research in military, economic and space technology has been launched by China, the northeast African country's ruling body said Tuesday.

General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who heads Sudan's sovereign council, announced the launch of the satellite at a meeting of his top security officials held in Khartoum.

China's state news agency, Xinhua, reported that the satellite was launched on Sunday from north China's Shanxi Province.

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"The satellite aims to develop research in space technology, acquire data as well as discover natural resources for the country's military needs," a statement issued by the council said.

The spokesman of the ruling body Mohamed al-Fakhi Sulaiman told AFP that "in a few months the satellite would be monitored from Sudan".

"China launched the satellite as it is a partner in this project."

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Sudan, which is battling an economic crisis, has been involved in a national space programme for decades covering activities such as remote sensing and geoinformatics.

In 2013, the then Sudanese government of now-ousted leader Omar al-Bashir established the Institute of Space Research and Aerospace (ISRA) as part of an overall plan to develop space technologies.

Bashir was ousted by the army in April following a nationwide protest movement against his rule of three decades.

The protests were triggered by the economic crisis led by an acute shortage of foreign currency and high inflation.