Sudanese PM Abdalla Hamdok
ABU DHABI, Oct 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Sudan has received half of $3 billion in aid promised by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in April and expects the remainder to be paid by the end of next year, Sudan’s finance minister said.
The Gulf countries agreed the aid package soon after former president Omar al-Bashir was ousted, throwing a lifeline to Sudan’s new military leaders at the time.
Finance Minister Ibrahim Elbadawi said Saudi Arabia and the UAE had deposited $500 million in the Sudanese central bank, while $1 billion worth of petroleum products, wheat and agricultural production inputs had been received.
Long lines for bread and fuel are a recurring feature of Sudan’s economic crisis.
“I met with the ambassadors of the kingdom and of the UAE, and we agreed on a programmed schedule that will God willing take us to the end of 2020, to finish off the rest of the grant,” Elbadawi said.
He was speaking on the sidelines of an event in Abu Dhabi, where Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok is visiting after traveling to Riyadh earlier in the week. — NNN-AGENCIES
