Khartoum, Jan. 6 (SUNA) - The Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr. Hiba Mohamed Ali, and the visiting US Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding in Khartoum to provide a same-day bridge financing facility to clear Sudan’s arrears to the World Bank.
The Minister of Finance and Economic Planning said that the move will enable Sudan to regain access to over one billion dollars in annual financing from the World Bank for the first time in 27 years, appreciating the United States’ stances and support to Sudan and described the visit of the US Treasury Secretary to Sudan as an important one.
On his part, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, said that the signing of the memorandum aims to revitalization of the Sudanese economy, especially after the name of Sudan was removed from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism, calling on the Sudanese to work together to build a strong infrastructure.
The memo of understanding will help Sudan regain access to World Bank financing as a major accomplishment by Sudan’s transitional government and an important milestone on the country’s path towards debt relief.
The International financing will provide pivotal support to achieve economic stability in compliance with the reforms implemented by the transitional government, which aims to address structural distortions in the economy, promote growth, encourage investment, and build a prosperous economy for all the Sudanese people, especially youth, women and societies affected by wars and marginalization.
Restoration of the access to financing for international financial institutions is considered an achievement for the transitional government and an important step on the country's path towards writing off Sudan debts and benefiting from IDA grants to finance major infrastructure projects and other development projects across Sudan.
This move by the US Treasury comes after Washington’s decision to remove Sudan from the list of states sponsoring Terrorism on December 14, 2020 and reinstatement of Sudan's sovereign immunity on December 22, 2020.
The move also affirmed the commitment of the United States to support economic stability in Sudan and the success of the transitional period to achieve a just peace and democratic transition.
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