Sudan scraps $6 billion UAE port deal, citing RSF support

November 3, 2024 (PORT SUDAN) – Sudan has cancelled a $6 billion deal with the United Arab Emirates to develop a Red Sea port, Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim said on Sunday, accusing Abu Dhabi of supporting the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the country’s ongoing conflict.

The deal, signed in December 2022, would have seen Abu Dhabi Ports and Invictus Investment, a company managed by Sudanese businessman Osama Daoud, build and operate the Abu Amama port, located about 200 km (124 miles) north of Port Sudan.

“After what happened, we will not give the UAE a single centimeter on the Red Sea coast,” Ibrahim told a news conference in Port Sudan. He was referring to allegations that the UAE has provided backing to the RSF, which has been battling Sudan’s army since April 15.

The scrapped project was part of a larger investment package that also included a free trade zone, an agricultural project, and a $300 million deposit to Sudan’s central bank.

Ibrahim, who also heads the Justice and Equality Movement, denied reports that he had resigned as finance minister in protest over the dismissal of the head of the tax authority. “We are still in our position, but we have reservations about the signals from our executive body,” he said. “Reservations are not managed by resignations.”