Sudan will set up a new sovereign wealth fund with the United Nations, the country’s finance department tweeted last week.

Worth $300 million, the facility will support small investors across the territory. It will be established with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), a specialized UN body that promotes industrial development for poverty reduction and sustainable development internationally.

This announcement is a reward for the efforts of the Sudanese transitional government, which has been struggling since 2019 to bring the country back into the international financial system and obtain the necessary assistance from foreign donors to accelerate its economic reconstruction. As a result, the country has been removed from the U.S. terror list, making it now eligible for international funding.

The Sudanese Minister of Finance, Heba Mohamed Ali (pictured), held a meeting with UNIDO officials to expand the institution's interventions in his country. During the meeting, the two parties agreed on the need for cooperation in the development of the national entrepreneurship strategy and the law governing it. The meeting discussed issues related to entrepreneurship, youth employment, and the provision of funds to implement these programs.

Sudan is also seeking to clear its arrears to the World Bank, in particular, to obtain further substantial support from the institution. As part of this strategy, the country signed an agreement, with the United States in January 2021, that provides for the US Treasury to finance the payment of these arrears, enabling it to obtain more than one billion dollars per year.   

Moutiou Adjibi Nourou