Sudan receives $ 1.5 billion as Saudi-UAE deposit

Khartoum, October 9 (SUNA) - Sudan has received $ 1.5 billion, half of the $ 3 billion aid pledged by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates last April. The Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Dr. Ibrahim Al-Badawi said that the remaining aid was expected to be paid by the end of 2020, explaining that both Saudi Arabia and the UAE deposited five hundred million dollars to the Central Bank of Sudan, affirming, in statements to media organs, Sudan received $ 1 billion worth of petroleum products, wheat and agricultural production inputs. He added that the grant was part of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi's pledge to provide this aid package after the fall of the former regime. Dr. Al-Badawi programmed with the ambas-sadors of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on the schedule of the rest of the grant to be settled by the end of 2020. This came on the sidelines of the visit of Prime Minister Ab-dullah Hamdouk to the UAE after his visit to Riyadh this week. For his part, the Prime Minister urged, during a meeting the Saudi businessmen at the Council of Saudi Chambers, Saudi businessmen, to increase their investments in the country. "We look forward to joint cooperation in the fields of agriculture, industry, services, infrastructure and energy," the Prime Minister said, praising the strategic ties between Khartoum and Riyadh.  BH/BH