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UAE Energy Minister Visits Sudan to Build Investment Partnership

Sudanese demonstrators make victory signs and wave Sudanese flags as they protest in front of the Defence Ministry in Khartoum, Sudan April 17, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
Sudanese demonstrators make victory signs and wave Sudanese flags as they protest in front of the Defence Ministry in Khartoum, Sudan April 17, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
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UAE Energy Minister Visits Sudan to Build Investment Partnership

Sudanese demonstrators make victory signs and wave Sudanese flags as they protest in front of the Defence Ministry in Khartoum, Sudan April 17, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
Sudanese demonstrators make victory signs and wave Sudanese flags as they protest in front of the Defence Ministry in Khartoum, Sudan April 17, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

Sudanese Finance Minister Ibrahim Elbadawi said that UAE investments in the African country have touched on seven billion dollars.

Elbadawi, after receiving UAE Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazroui, who is paying the African country a two-day visit, stressed that the Sudanese government is working to build a solid economic partnership with the UAE.

The UAE, for its part, renewed its keenness to work with the transitional government of Sudan in order to open up the country’s market and make it more attractive to investors.

In a joint press conference with Elbadawi, Mazroui expressed hope for working with the Sudanese government in this regard.

This, according to the minister would be based on the resources and expertise owned by Sudan, in addition to its people who are able to bring change in the country.

During his visit, Mazroui will discuss economic cooperation between the two countries and UAE investments in Sudan as part of his country's efforts to support Sudan during the transition period.
Foreign investments had suffered badly under Sudan’s former regime.

Among the many problems investors faced were weak infrastructure, poor management, political, economic and security turmoil, exchange rate instability and high inflation, as well as banking problems.

“Sudan must change the previous concepts; especially since it has many elements to create a better reality,” Mazroui said.

“Development in Sudan will create good job opportunities for young people,” he added.

Elbadawi said that the Sudanese government is ready to cooperate with the UAE in a transparent manner to build a solid foundation for their relationship.

He pointed out that the UAE investments in Sudan amounted to $7 billion, despite the deteriorating economic conditions and poor business environment.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are among the biggest supporters of Sudan's transitional government, especially after the ouster of former President Omar al-Bashir.

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Business

Bolivia Approves $1.9 Billion IMF Deal, Eliminates Diesel Subsidies

A person is counting dollars in La Paz, Bolivia, 10 July 2026. (EPA)
A person is counting dollars in La Paz, Bolivia, 10 July 2026. (EPA)
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Bolivia Approves $1.9 Billion IMF Deal, Eliminates Diesel Subsidies

A person is counting dollars in La Paz, Bolivia, 10 July 2026. (EPA)
A person is counting dollars in La Paz, Bolivia, 10 July 2026. (EPA)

Bolivian lawmakers approved a $1.9 billion loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund on Friday, delivering the conservative government a key victory in its efforts to ease the country's deep economic crisis as unions threatened renewed protests.

Just hours after Congress approved the loan, President Rodrigo Paz announced an immediate end to subsidies for the diesel powering Bolivia’s trucks, buses and tractors — a step toward meeting IMF demands. Gasoline, used mainly in private cars, would remain subsidized for now, though Paz had already scaled back that support in recent months, The Associated Press said.

The Senate ratified the IMF agreement a day after the lower house approved it, clearing the final legislative hurdle for the three-year financing program aimed at replenishing dwindling foreign reserves and stabilizing the ailing economy marked by high inflation and weak growth. The IMF first announced the staff-level agreement in July after months of negotiations with Paz’s market-friendly government, which took power last year after nearly two decades of socialist rule as part of a wave of new Latin American leaders allied with the Trump administration.

The program still requires approval from the IMF’s executive board before funds can be disbursed. Economy Minister Christian Morales told senators that the deal would give other lenders, including the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, greater confidence in the government and help it secure about $5 billion in additional financing.

But the assistance is conditioned on tough economic measures, including the elimination of fuel subsidies, that threaten to reignite unrest in Bolivia, where weeks of road blockades in June and July paralyzed much of the South American nation as demonstrators demanded Paz’s resignation. Congress on Thursday extended for another 90 days a state of emergency that Paz had declared to clear roads during the protests. It allows for military intervention and the suspension of some civil liberties.

The Bolivian Workers’ Central, the country’s main labor federation, and other unions have voiced fierce opposition to the IMF loan, warning that the government spending cuts required under the deal would drive up living costs and deepen hardship for struggling families.

Although Paz’s Christian Democratic Party lacks a majority in Congress, the centrist and right-wing lawmakers that dominate both chambers rallied behind the deal. The Movement Toward Socialism, the party that dominated Bolivian politics after the former coca growers’ union leader Evo Morales won the presidency in 2005, now holds just two of the 130 seats in the lower house and none in the 36-member Senate.

Declining natural gas exports have deprived Bolivia of dollars needed to import gasoline and diesel, contributing to chronic fuel shortages that began in 2023 and have persisted under Paz. The Iran war has pushed up global fuel costs, making fuel subsidies an even greater burden on public finances.

“No one can buy something expensive and sell it cheap,” Paz said in his late-night declaration that diesel in Bolivia would now be sold at international prices.

To cushion the blow, he announced about $79 million in cash assistance for 2.9 million Bolivians, along with loans on preferential terms for truckers, small businesses and producers facing higher diesel costs. He pledged to redirect subsidy spending toward schools, hospitals and roads.

Business

IMF Says Lebanon Economic Activity to Contract Sharply in 2026 as Conflict Weighs

FILE PHOTO: A view of the International Monetary Fund logo at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., US, November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view of the International Monetary Fund logo at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., US, November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
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IMF Says Lebanon Economic Activity to Contract Sharply in 2026 as Conflict Weighs

FILE PHOTO: A view of the International Monetary Fund logo at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., US, November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view of the International Monetary Fund logo at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., US, November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo

The International Monetary Fund said on Friday that Lebanon's economic activity is expected to contract significantly in 2026 ‌as the ‌conflict in ‌the ⁠Middle East and broader ⁠regional security tensions continue to damage economic activity, infrastructure ⁠and living conditions, Reuters reported.

The ‌IMF ‌said inflation ‌remained in ‌the double digits and the country's current account deficit ‌had widened, largely due to higher ⁠energy ⁠costs, while infrastructure damage, internal displacement, and deteriorating living standards had added to economic pressures.

Business

Oil Prices Fall on Easing Fears Over Saudi Supply Disruption

FILE PHOTO: Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, September 2, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, September 2, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
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Oil Prices Fall on Easing Fears Over Saudi Supply Disruption

FILE PHOTO: Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, September 2, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, September 2, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

Oil prices fell 2% on Friday, extending losses for a third straight session as easing concerns over Saudi supply disruptions outweighed anxiety about a widening of conflict across the Middle East.

Brent crude futures fell by $2.14, or 2%, to $102.68 a barrel by 0806 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate futures fell $1.83, or 1.8%, to $100.08, Reuters reported.

Benchmark Brent prices are on track for their first weekly loss in three.

Prices climbed to close to four-month highs earlier in the week after sources said crude loadings ⁠at Saudi Arabia's Red Sea export hub of Yanbu had been suspended and Riyadh cancelled some deliveries to Europe after its East-West pipeline was damaged in an attack last week.

However, prices have cooled since on reports that Saudi Arabia was seeking to restore about half the capacity of its East-West oil pipeline within days.

Saudi Arabia has sold about 60 million barrels of crude from its Gulf port of Ras Tanura inside the Strait of Hormuz for loading via ship-to-ship transfer at the Omani port of Sohar this month and next, multiple trade sources said on Friday.

The rebound in Saudi Aramco's exports from inside the Gulf to between 1 million to 1.5 million barrels per day on average, similar to or slightly higher than August's levels, has cooled global oil prices as it could make up for some of the ⁠volume lost at its port of Yanbu.

Chinese and South Korean refiners are among the top buyers of the spot supplies, while some volumes will be going to India and Japan, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"Recent efforts ‌to restore Saudi export capacity have reduced some of the immediate supply ‌anxiety," said Priyanka Sachdeva, head of market insights at Phillip Nova.