New Sudan government to be announced within 48 hours

The spokesman for the Sovereign Council, Mohamed El Faki, told reporters in Khartoum yesterday that the new government will be announced within 48 hours at the latest. Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdouk said at a joint press conference with the German Foreign Minister in Khartoum yesterday that “it is better to reach a satisfactory conclusion even if it delays the formation”.

Hamdouk affirmed that consultations with the Forces for Freedom and Change on the formation of a government still continue.

Sovereign Council

The Sovereign Council held an extraordinary meeting with Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdouk yesterday.

The prime minister wishes the government to be more representative of the states of Sudan, to include the generations that participated in the revolution, and to have a good gender balance.

Help

El Faki pointed out that the members of the Sovereign Council understand the reasons for the delay and promised to help finding the right ministers.

The Sovereign Council stressed the need to expedite the formation of a Peace Commission, because it is linked to the negotiations with the armed movements. This commission must be established within the first six months of the interim period, as stipulated in the Constitutional Document.

Reuters: four members known

News agency Reuters reported on Tuesday afternoon September 4 that Hamdouk approved 14 civilian members of the new governments “according to a source within the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) who spoke on condition of anonymity”.

According to this source Asmaa Abdallah has been chosen as foreign minister, the first woman foreign minister of Sudan.

Ibrahim El Badawi, former World Bank economist and since 2017 managing director of the Cairo-based think tank, Economic Research Forum, will become finance minister.

Adil Ibrahim will become minister for energy and mining.

General Jamaleldin Omar will become defence minister. He was member of the Transitional Military Council that overthrew Al Bashir earlier this year.

Stop the war

At the joint press conference with the German foreign minister, Hamdouk stressed the need to stop the war in order to save 80 per cent of the budget.

He pointed out that the government’s economic emergency programme includes providing necessary commodities such as sugar, flour, and fuel, reducing inflation, stabilising the exchange rate, and restoring confidence in the banking system.

Hamdouk stressed that the long-term economic programme includes efforts in the field of production and the creation of a favourable climate for investment.

Terrorism

The prime minister stated that discussions with the US administration on removing Sudan from the list of states sponsoring terrorism are ongoing. He expects progress in this matter.

Hamdouk stressed his adherence to the decision to resume the school year on September 15, and promised to address the challenges. He added that the decision to resume the school year was taken after a meeting with the competent authorities. The alternative is that students will lose a whole school year, “which we do not want”, he said.

He expressed his appreciation for the visit of German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, which he described as historic. He said they had consulted plans and challenges related to war and peace, and the economic crisis. He had called on Germany to work more with Sudan in the fields of development assistance and economic cooperation.

German Foreign Minister

The German foreign minister expressed his country’s support for the efforts to form a civilian government, and to stop the war. He praised the courage of the Sudanese people and its commitment to peacefulness.

Maas revealed the formation of a Friends of Sudan group, to provide international support for Sudan and its integration into the international economy.

He stressed that the prerequisite for economic and financial development in Sudan is to make efforts to remove Sudan from the list of states sponsoring terrorism, stressing that this matter will be addressed in meetings of the United Nations General Assembly.

Maas announced an increase of the German humanitarian support to Sudan of €15 million . He also announced that Germany would resume cooperation in development assistance.

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