The United States embassy in Khartoum believed that Sudan's relations with Yugoslavia were its closest relations with any socialist state and that Khartoum recognized post-1948 Yugoslav independence from the Soviet Union. The Yugoslav side was interested in further development of relations with Sudan as one of the Non-Aligned newly independent states in Africa. The country perceived its links with non-Bloc countries as an opportunity to strengthen its diplomatic position during the Cold War. Yugoslavia therefore provided especially important service in supplying parts and maintaining Sudan's aging Soviet built military equipment. The country also provided radio-transmitting facilities and secondhand naval patrol craft for the use in the Red Sea. An important aspect of the Yugoslav support was focused on the navy where it provided basic assistance in the establishment of the Sudanese Navy and for over a decade provided all of its vessels and the bulk of officer and technical training.
