Sudan says Iraq agrees to sell it oil on credit
June 4, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s investment minister Mustafa Osman Ismail has announced that the Iraqi government agreed on Tuesday to sell it oil but pay for its price at a later date.
Sudan’s resorting to Iraq for its oil needs signals its lukewarm relations with closer oil-rich nations particularly Saudi Arabia which has been unhappy over Khartoum’s close ties with Iran.
The East African nation been struggling to meet local demand for diesel and other oil products since losing most of its crude output with the secession of South Sudan in 2011.
Oil used to be the main source of revenue for the budget and of dollars needed to pay for imports.
Last year, the government launched a package of tough austerity measures, including scaling back fuel subsidies to close a fiscal gap, sparking short-lived protests.
Khartoum also moved to effectively devalue the currency which came under enormous pressures as a result of a big shortage in foreign currencies.
Iraq has been one of the countries Sudan has turned to for help with its financial woes.
Last November, the Iraqi government revealed that Sudan had requested a $100 million grant, but Iraq only agreed to disburse a fraction of that ($10 million) to be allocated from its 2013 budget.
At the time, the Iraqi government spokesperson, Ali Al-Dabagh, said that Iraq responded to the request of Sudan’s finance minister who explained the critical economic situation experienced by Sudan following secession of South Sudan and the significant loss of oil revenues which had negatively impacted the budget and the balance of payments as well as the suffering in Darfur.
The Sudanese investment minister also said that the two countries agreed to form a joint council of businessmen including 15 members from each side, adding that the first meeting of the council will be held in Khartoum in the coming weeks.
He declared that the first meeting of the joint ministerial committee between the two countries which is headed by ministers of agriculture will convene in Khartoum.
The Sudanese official disclosed that the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri Al-Maliki, has promised to discuss the issue of the Sudanese convicts in Iraqi jails with the competent authorities upon a request from Sudan to pardon them or transfer them to Sudan’s prisons to complete their jail terms.
He noted that Sudanese convicts’ prison terms in Iraq ranged from 10-19 years along with one who was sentenced to death.
(ST)