On Friday, the government of Khartoum, the World Bank and European donors signed a support agreement worth 370 million dollars, mainly dedicated to supporting needy families in Sudan.
The grant includes $ 200 million from the World Bank and 170 million from Sudan's European partners (the European Union, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and Sweden).
According to the agency "Sona", it is expected that other financial contributions will be deposited from donors to meet the total amount required to implement the first phase of the program, which amounts to $ 400 million.
The grant will be allocated to support Sudanese citizens directly, through the family support program, especially the needy ones, at a time when the country is suffering from declining job opportunities and increasing poverty rates, and an inflation rate of 212% last month.
Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Heba Muhammad Ali said that this grant is a great support for structural economic reforms, according to which it will ultimately produce a recovering and inflationary economy under control and reactivate the wheel of production.
The transitional government has put in place a domestic program of reforms aimed at stabilizing the economy, removing distortions, improving competitiveness, and strengthening governance.
The reform plan calls for removing fuel subsidies to make room for more social spending, including Sudan's family support program, health spending and broadening the tax base.
Economic challenges
"The government of Sudan has taken commendable steps to address the economic, social and political challenges that have occurred over the past years, and the speed and scope of reforms represent a convincing argument for the international community and the World Bank Group," SUNA news agency quoted Othman Dayon, the World Bank Country Director, as saying during the signing ceremony. Al-Khosos for intensifying its participation and support in the country to reduce poverty and boost shared prosperity.
According to the World Bank, Sudan has not received support from it for nearly 29 years, in conjunction with placing its name on the list of countries that sponsor terrorism, followed by economic sanctions that resulted in stopping international aid, according to Anadolu Agency.
Earlier on Friday, US President Donald Trump announced that Sudan and Israel had agreed to normalize relations between them.
The White House also announced that Trump informed Congress of his intention to officially remove Sudan from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism, after Sudan transferred $ 335 million to the account of the victims of attacks on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and their families, according to Reuters.
In turn, the Transitional Council in Sudan announced today, during a tweet, that Trump signed the decision to officially remove Khartoum from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism.