Finance Minister Reviews Results of World Bank Mission to Sudan
Dr. Jibril Ibrahim reviewed the results of the World Bank mission’s visit to the country from December 1-3. The mission head, Mariam Salem, the World Bank’s Regional Director for Sudan, Ethiopia, and Eritrea, briefed the Finance Minister on the visit’s key outcomes. Chief among these was the World Bank’s continued funding of important development projects in Sudan. The mission head announced that the World Bank is set to finance approximately $700 million in new projects to be implemented over three years. The Bank will also contribute to financing recovery and reconstruction projects. The meeting took place in his office today, in the presence of Advisor Mohamed Nour Abdel-Daim, Minister of State at the Ministry, and Professor Mohamed Bashar, Undersecretary of Planning. Also participating were members of the mission: Mr. Yoshiro Ishihara, the World Bank’s Country Director for Sudan, Dr. Mohamed Osman, an economist at the Bank’s Sudan office, the Director General of External Finance, and the Director of International Financial Institutions.
The Minister indicated that the government prioritizes health, water, recovery, and reconstruction projects. He called for coordination with organizations operating in Sudan and relevant stakeholders in implementing these projects. Dr. Jibril commended the World Bank’s efforts in Sudan and its continued funding of projects that contribute to the return and stability of citizens. He also explained that there are pre-prepared project studies that could be used to establish partnerships for cooperation, particularly in the agricultural sector.
Mariam noted that the World Bank will coordinate a visit by a team of its advisors to provide technical support in the coming period. She explained that the Bank is targeting projects in the areas of health, agriculture, social support, youth support, financial and economic reform, renewable energy, electricity, digitalization, and communications, in accordance with the government’s priorities. She emphasized that the visit was fruitful and provided an opportunity to review several ongoing projects whose funding had continued uninterrupted, especially in the health and education sectors.