Sudan pleads with UK for debt relief

July 23, 2009 (KHARTOUM) —Britain needs to play a “positive” role to resolve the debt issue and achieve development, a Sudanese official said.

The Sudanese minister for finance and national economy Awad Al-Jaz made the remarks during his meeting with Mark Lowcock, Director-General of the Country Programmes Division at the UK Department for International Development.

Al-Jaz said that Sudan is keen on building confidence and laying the groundwork for development to strengthen peace and unity. He pointed out to efforts by his government in the area of macroeconomics citing International Monetary Fund (IMF) reports.

The Sudanese official urged Britain to work on settling the debt saying it is a burden on the economy adding that the surge in debt was a result of interest rates and servicing costs.

An IMF report released this week Sudan’s debt to have increased by a stunning $15 billion in 2000 to about $34 billion due to a “further buildup of arrears to Paris Club and non-Paris Club creditors….and new drawings from Arab multilateral and bilateral creditors, as well as from China and India”.

Sudan informed the IMF that it in light of Sudan’s difficult foreign exchange position their debt repayments to the fund will be at $10 million for 2009 compared to a total of $50 million in 2007 & 2008.

Al-Jaz briefed Lowcock on Sudan’s priorities in terms of development and improving the economy’s capabilities. He invited UK to explore investment opportunities in Sudan.

The UK minister was quoted as expressing interest in continuing dialogue with Sudan promising to cooperate to reach a new stage in peace and development.

(ST)