UAE to participate in international conference to support Sudanese transition, summit on financing African economies in France

Khalifa Shaheen Al Marar, Minister of State, is heading the UAE delegation participating in the Paris International Conference to Support the Sudanese Transition and the Summit on Financing African Economies in Paris, France.

President Emmanuel Macron of France is hosting the international conference on Sudan at the Grand Palais Éphémère, with the attendance of 18 presidents and heads of governments, while several other presidents and government representatives will take part via video conferencing.

The conference aims to support the Sudanese economy after the country was removed from the list of state sponsors of terrorism. France and Sudan drafted a series of projects to be presented during the conference covering various sectors, such as agriculture, energy, mining, infrastructure, transport and digital transformation.

The event’s participants will discuss ways of lifting, delaying or rescheduling Sudan’s debts to enable its transitional government to develop its economy and address relevant challenges. France also pledged to provide Sudan with nearly US$1.4 billion to pay its overdue debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), similar to the United States loan that enabled Sudan to pay off its debt to the World Bank, as well as the decision of the United Kingdom regarding the country’s debt to the African Development Bank.

France will also urge Sudan’s friends and pressure international financial institutions to reduce or wipe out its debts.

In a statement, the Élysée Palace stressed that the summit, which will take place tomorrow, was organised after 18 African and European leaders agreed on 15th April, 2020, to mobilise the efforts of the international community to address the effects of the health and economic crisis caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Africa.

France aims to collect at least $400 billion to cover the IMF Special Drawing Rights (SDR) amounting to $650 billion, to finance African economies significantly affected by the pandemic.