Sudan to introduce new currency

KHARTOUM, Nov 30 (AFP) — Sudanese plans to introduce a new currency to replace the dinar and designed to depict the unity and diversity of the country, Finance Minister Al-Zubair Mohammed al-Hassan has said.

Hassan was quoted by official Omdurman radio Tuesday as telling a meeting of Sudanese businessmen a day earlier that the government and the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army agreed on the change to be “more expressive of the unity and diversity” of Sudan.

He said the change would cost 80 million dollars, which would be covered in the fiscal 2005 budget.

It was not immediately clear whether the government would simply print new banknotes, with a new name, or also change the exchange rate.

Ten years ago, Sudan adopted the dinar to replace the Sudanese pound. It currently trades at about 260 to the dollar.