Saudi Arabia pledges $20 million grant to support shattered Sudanese ministries

September 16, 2026 (KHARTOUM) – Saudi Arabia has pledged a $20 million grant to Sudan to fund key civilian ministries as the war-torn country struggles to maintain basic state functions, officials said on Wednesday.

The funds, disbursed through the Saudi Fund for Development, will target the ministries of finance, agriculture, health, education, higher education, and information, the Sudanese cabinet said in a statement.

The financial package comes after more than three years of conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which has devastated critical infrastructure, gutted public revenues, and paralyzed the economy.

Widespread looting and fighting forced government ministries out of Khartoum, shifting the administrative hub eastward to the Red Sea port city of Port Sudan.

Saudi Ambassador to Sudan Zaid bin Makhled Al-Harbi disclosed the financing during talks in Khartoum with Al-Hussein Al-Hafyan, a special representative to the prime minister.

The two sides discussed reviving the Joint Saudi-Sudanese Coordination Council to manage bilateral economic and development cooperation, according to the cabinet statement.

The funding follows joint statements from Riyadh and Cairo backing the continuity of Sudan’s formal state apparatus.

Gulf stability and maritime trade remain closely tied to security along Sudan’s Red Sea coast, where prolonged economic collapse risks further regional instability.