ROME, JUNE 25 – With Sudan at a historic turning point – on its way to peace and democracy and many challenges lying ahead – the High-Level Sudan Partnership Conference gathered today around 50 countries and international organizations.
“Italy supports Khartoum’s ongoing institutional and economic reforms and contributes with a comprehensive pledge including new humanitarian and development activities to be implemented in the coming years”, the Italian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emanuela del Re, said in the video-conference that allowed the international community to take stock of the achievements of the Sudanese transition so far, and discussed the challenges ahead.
Building on the progress made by the Transitional Government in putting in place political and economic reforms, a strong political consensus emerged to support Sudan and its transition in building peace, democratic governance and inclusive economic recovery as well as in progressing towards debt relief.
Participating delegations agreed on a Joint Communiqué, which underlines the necessity of this political partnership and economic support as well as outlines the way forward to support Sudan in its transition.
To support Sudan’s economic reforms and mitigate their social impact on its population, international partners pledged a total of USD 1.8 billion, to which the World Bank committed to providing an additional pre-arrears clearance grant of up to USD 400m. This includes support to improving macro-economic stabilisation and the Sudan Family Support Program, which will provide vital assistance to millions of vulnerable people, direct help to enhance Sudan’s capacity to respond to COVID-19, and more generally, humanitarian assistance and development cooperation.
This Conference marks the start of a process, which will be followed by subsequent engagement by the international community to take stock of the progress made by Sudan in implementing reforms and to allow its partners to adapt their support accordingly. (@OnuItalia)
