Sudan’s foreign debts 23 billion dollars – minister

KHARTOUM, Sep 3, 2003 (KUNA) — Sudan’s foreign debts are estimated at 23 billion dollars, a senior government official said Wednesday.

Abeda Al-Qoul, a state minister at the Ministry of Finance, was quoted by the state-run news agency (SANA) as saying that government is exerting great efforts to settle the debts issue with international financial institutions by making symbolic payments.

She said that the Sudanese government has been, and for the past five year, steady in making symbolic payments to the Internation Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, as well as Arab financing institutions and funds.

Abeda said that her country seeks to join the initiative of the Havily-debted and Poor Countries (HEPC) in order to obtain finances to enale it from paying overdue payments.