KHARTOUM — The World Bank will shortly begin the process of
allocating some $2 billion in grants to Sudan, a bank official said,
representing the country’s return to the international financial system after
decades of isolation.
اضافة اعلان
Priority areas for the funds will be defined following
meetings early next month, and allocations would take into account a peace deal
signed last year, Ousmane Dione, World Bank country director for Sudan, said.
The peace agreement, signed between the transitional
government and several of the groups that fought ousted president Omar
Al-Bashir across the country, entails extensive development spending.
In a statement on Friday, Sudan’s cabinet had highlighted
agriculture, infrastructure, health, and education as priority areas for
investment.
“Making sure that those resources are being spent where they
can contribute to reducing the gap between the center and the periphery is
extremely important,” Dione told Reuters in an interview on Saturday.
While Sudan’s government is expected to “take the driver’s
seat” for those projects, they could include partnerships with the private
sector where advantageous, he added.
The World Bank’s International Development Agency (IDA) committed
on Friday to providing the $2 billion across the coming two years, purely in
the form of grants.
The new funding was made possible by the clearance of
Sudan’s arrears to the bank, which was facilitated by a $1.15 billion bridge
loan from the United States, which the World Bank has repaid.
“What Sudan is currently liable for is to make sure the
country doesn’t fall back into arrears to IDA,” said Dione, adding that the
country carried no liability for the bridge loan. Some $215 million in direct
budget support was allocated to Sudan to cushion the fiscal burden on
government, he said.
The government ruling following Bashir’s ouster has made
painful economic reforms including the reduction of energy subsidies and a
currency devaluation, as the country implements an IMF-monitored program amidst
an economic crisis.
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