The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has directed to provide a grant to contribute to covering part of the financing gap of the Republic of Sudan at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with about $ 20 million. This is as an initiative by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to participate in addressing the arrears and easing the debt burden on the Republic of Sudan. It came during the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia speech delivered by Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, Minister of Foreign Affairs. Prince Faisal led the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia delegation at the International Conference to Support the Sudanese Transition, held today in Paris, with the participation of the Minister of Finance, Mohammad Al-Jadaan, and the presence and participation of more than 40 countries. At the beginning of his speech, the Minister of Foreign Affairs conveyed the greetings of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and his sincere wishes for the conference success, and sincere thanks to French President Emmanuel Macron for holding this summit in support of the brotherly Republic of Sudan. The Minister of Foreign Affairs said that what unites us today is our common goal to support the transitional phase that Sudan is going through towards a bright and prosperous future. He added that from this standpoint, on April 13, 2019, Saudi Arabia announced its full support for what the Sudanese people have decided about their future and what measures have been taken in the interest of the brotherly Sudanese people. At that time, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques directed to provide a package of humanitarian and development aid. The Minister pointed out that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was one of the first countries that contributed and participated, through the framework of the Friends of Sudan, in supporting this transitional phase in Sudan, in addition to its continuous and relentless efforts at the bilateral level in bringing points of view between the Sudanese parties. "These efforts came from my country's belief in the importance of activating Sudan's regional role and providing everything that would protect Sudan and preserve its security," Prince Faisal added. The Minister appreciated the role of the United States of America, the French Republic, and the United Kingdom for their tireless efforts in supporting Sudan to reach the decision point for the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. He also stressed the importance of friendly countries supporting Sudan to reach the decision point, which would qualify it to benefit from the resources available to the international financial institutions and implement the reforms agreed upon in the IMF program, including economic and organizational reforms stimulate the private sector investments. The Minister said that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would continue its positive and influential role in financing development globally and regionally, in continuation of what it has provided over the past decades, as a significant contributor to supporting development efforts in developing countries, including the support provided to the Republic of Sudan. At the end of his speech, Prince Faisal called on all countries and regional and international financial institutions to respond urgently to Sudan's needs and make rapid progress in the process of debt treatment to enable Sudan to overcome this difficult stage and reach sustainable prosperity.
