Sudan has received a critical financial boost from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who on Sunday granted three billion dollars in support for the country that is transitioning from the 30-year-rule of deposed leader Omar al-Bashir.
Reports have it that the oil-rich Gulf states have pledged to inject $500 million into the Sudanese central bank and $2.5 billion to help provide food, medicine and petroleum products. Although, it has failed to specify if the money is a gift or a loan.
In recent years Sudan has been hit by an acute lack of dollars, a key factor behind the nationwide protests that led to the toppling of Bashir by the army this month.
Since Bashir’s ouster the Sudanese pound has steadily strengthened on the black market, and on Sunday it jumped to 45 per dollar, after trading at 72 at one stage last week. The official exchange rate is 47.5 pounds to the dollar.
The Sudanese currency had plunged even after the United States lifted its 20-year-old trade embargo on the country in October 2017.