Thursday, 20 May 2021: Prime Minister of Sudan, Abdalla Hamdok, has revealed that the Nation is set to receive $700 million in funding from the African Export-Import Bank to support the energy and communications sectors.

Abdalla disclosed this in a press conference upon his arrival in Khartoum from a meeting with bank officials in Paris earlier this week. According to him, the pledge was made during the meeting.

Included in the bank’s pledge to the nation is the purchase of 22 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine worth $220 million, Hamdok said, bringing the total funding to almost $1 billion.

Part of the success of the Paris trip is captured in the agreement of International Monetary Fund member countries to clear Sudan’s arrears to the institution, removing a final hurdle to the African nation getting wider relief on external debt of at least $50 billion.

Sudan appears to be rising from decades of economic sanctions and isolation under ousted former President Omar al-Bashir.

It had built up huge arrears on its debt, but has made rapid progress towards having much of it forgiven under the IMF and World Bank’s Highly Indebted Poor Countries, (HIPC), scheme, which would reopen access to badly needed cheap international financing.

In order to reach the “decision point” that would unlock the HIPC process in June, Sudan recently cleared its arrears to the World Bank and the African Development Bank with bridge loans from Western states.

In Paris, the Saudi finance minister also discussed opening branches of Saudi banks in Sudan to facilitate the movement of capital between the two countries and remittances of Sudanese expatriate.