East Sudan donors’ conference to start in Kuwait next week

November 24, 2010 (KHARTOUM) – The Kuwaiti government will host a two-day donors and investors conference next week for the underdeveloped east of Sudan to be attended by more than 50 countries as well as organizations including the United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank and the Islamic Development Bank as well as 90 NGO’s.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said that participants have indicated their interest in pledging support for over 180 development and investment projects developed for the conference which include the three areas of services, infrastructure and investment.

“Safe drinking water, education, health, capacity development, micro-finance and food security would be the focus of projects in the services sector to be open for donor pledges at the Kuwait Conference. The infrastructure projects to be prioritized for funding include development of clean energy resources, roads and bridges construction and sanitation would. Promotion of agricultural and industrial development as well as fisheries, animal husbandry and tourism form the bulk of the project proposal in the investment sector that the Government of Sudan will seek market to the business community”.

East Sudan, an area as large as Italy and divided into the three states of Kassala, Al-Gadarif and Red Sea, has a long history of rebellion against the central government in Khartoum. The region is believed to be rich in agricultural and mineral resources and is being seen as a potential hub for the growth of mining, tourism, gas and oil exploration and development of agricultural and animal husbandry.

The Beja Congress, named after the region’s largest ethnic minority, and the Free Lions of the Rashidiya Arab tribe took up arms against Khartoum in 1994, protesting of an unfair distribution of wealth between Sudan’s regions.

The 2006 peace deal between Khartoum and their Eastern Front coalition promised government jobs and 600 million dollars for development over five years.

An East Sudan Reconstruction and Development Fund was established but little has been achieved, prompting increasing bitterness among the region’s four million inhabitants.

The head of the organizing committee, Mustafa Ismail, who is an advisor to Sudanese President Omer Hassan Al-Bashir, said that the Sudanese cabinet would be convening on Thursday to approve its own commitment of financial assistance for the reconstruction and development of the East Sudan region.

(ST)