The leaders in the State Council have been very concerned about the news that two Chinese workers with the North China Construction Company who were drilling water wells in Western Sudan were kidnapped by local anti-Sudanese forces. Directions on the rescue of the workers have been made immediately. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has required officials in the Chinese Embassy in Sudan to meet with relevant officials in the Sudanese government to express concerns of the Chinese side. At the same time, officials in the Department of Consular Affairs as well as the Department of West Asian and North African Affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry have negotiated with the Sudanese Ambassador to China and urged Sudan to adopt every measure possible to release the kidnapped Chinese workers on the condition that their personal safety were ensured.
The Sudanese side that the Sudanese government was very concerned over this incident. The government had instructed relevant departments to adopt effective measures to rescue the kidnapped Chinese workers and pledged to inform the Chinese side of the progress any time. It was reported by the Sudanese government that the health and security conditions of the two workers remained sound. Currently the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Sudanese Embassy in China were keeping close contact with the Sudanese government.
