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Saudi Crown Prince … King’s Trust in Modernization and Diversity

Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Crown Prince … King’s Trust in Modernization and Diversity

Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (Asharq Al-Awsat)

King Salman bin Abdulaziz has placed his trust in Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s Prime Minister, to fulfill the nation's aspirations and advance its vision of becoming a key player in the global arena.

The Crown Prince has spearheaded a series of groundbreaking projects, including the introduction of a national vision that spans all areas of life, paving the way for the construction of a future-focused state that balances tradition with modernization.

This vision, known as Vision 2030, has been instrumental in shaping the Kingdom’s path.

In just a few years, the Crown Prince has successfully driven the goals of Vision 2030, navigating the realms of modernization and diversification while safeguarding national identity and values.

He has transformed the country into a hub of activity, securing agreements, forging strategic relationships, and forming partnerships with global powers to pursue shared political, economic, cultural, and other interests.

In his speech at the opening of the first session of the ninth Saudi Shura Council in September 2024, the Crown Prince, speaking on behalf of King Salman, outlined the significant achievements and progress made by Saudi Arabia under King Salman’s leadership, particularly in the implementation of Vision 2030.

The Crown Prince presented concrete examples and statistics showcasing the substantial milestones of the vision, which has garnered both global and local trust. He also addressed the regional and international landscape, reflecting on Saudi Arabia’s stance and actions in light of ongoing global events.

While Saudi Arabia continues its path of modernization and diversification, the Crown Prince emphasized the nation’s unwavering commitment to preserving its identity and values, which are deeply rooted in the legacy of its ancestors. These values represent the Kingdom’s distinct identity on the global stage.

In his address, the Crown Prince reaffirmed Saudi Arabia's dedication to collaborating with all active nations in the international community, confident that the protection of humanity and its cultural values lies in the joint pursuit of a better future based on fruitful cooperation, mutual respect, and the principle of good neighborliness.

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Sudan Banknote Switch Causes Cash Crunch

A Sudanese man pushes a cart with water containers in Omdurman, the Sudanese capital's twin city, during battles between the Sudanese military forces and Rapid Support Forces (RSF), on January 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
A Sudanese man pushes a cart with water containers in Omdurman, the Sudanese capital's twin city, during battles between the Sudanese military forces and Rapid Support Forces (RSF), on January 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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Sudan Banknote Switch Causes Cash Crunch

A Sudanese man pushes a cart with water containers in Omdurman, the Sudanese capital's twin city, during battles between the Sudanese military forces and Rapid Support Forces (RSF), on January 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
A Sudanese man pushes a cart with water containers in Omdurman, the Sudanese capital's twin city, during battles between the Sudanese military forces and Rapid Support Forces (RSF), on January 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

Sudan's army-aligned government has issued new banknotes in areas it controls, causing long queues at banks, disrupting trade and entrenching division.

In a country already grappling with war and famine, the swap replaced 500 and 1,000 Sudanese pound banknotes (worth around $0.25 and $0.50 respectively) with new ones in seven states.

The government justified the move as necessary to "protect the national economy and combat criminal counterfeiters,” AFP reported.

But for many Sudanese it just caused problems.

In Port Sudan, now the de facto capital, frustration boiled over as banks failed to provide enough new notes.

One 37-year-old woman spent days unsuccessfully trying to get the new money.

"I've been going to the bank four or five times a week to get the new currency. But there is none," she told AFP, requesting anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Grocers, rickshaw drivers, petrol stations and small shop owners are refusing to accept the old currency, preventing many transactions in a country reliant on cash.

"We cannot buy small things from street vendors any more or transport around the city because they refuse the old currency," the woman said.

The currency shift comes 21 months into a war that has devastated the northeast African country's economy and infrastructure, caused famine in some areas, uprooted millions of people and seen the Sudanese pound plunge.

From 500 pounds to the US dollar in April 2023, it now oscillates between 2,000 and 2,500.

Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim defended the switch, saying it aims to "move money into the banking system, ensure the monetary mass enters formal channels as well as prevent counterfeiting and looted funds.”

But analysts say it is less about economics and more about gaining the upper hand in the war between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who leads the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

"The army is trying to weaken the RSF by having a more dominant currency," Matthew Sterling Benson at the London School of Economics and Political Science told AFP.

After the RSF looted banks, the army "wants to control the flow of money" and deprive them of resources, he said.

Kholood Khair, founder of think tank Confluence Advisory, believes that this financial squeeze may accelerate RSF plans to establish a rival currency and administration.

"The move has catalyzed the already existing trajectory towards a split," she told AFP.

Sudan is already fragmented: the army holds the north and east and the RSF dominates in the western Darfur region and parts of the south and center.

Greater Khartoum is carved up between them.

For Sudan's population, the move has only compounded their suffering.

Activist Nazik Kabalo, who has coordinated aid in several areas, said supply chains have been severely disrupted.

Farmers, traders and food suppliers rely entirely on cash.

"And if you do not have cash, you cannot buy supplies, needed for aid or for anything else," Kabalo told AFP.

The government has promoted digital banking apps such as Bankak, but many Sudanese cannot access them because of widespread telecommunications outages.