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Sudan to Adjust Pound's Exchange Rate over Two Years

Sudanese banknotes are displayed at a foreign currency brokerage office in Khartoum, Oct. 7, 2018. (AFP)
Sudanese banknotes are displayed at a foreign currency brokerage office in Khartoum, Oct. 7, 2018. (AFP)
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Sudan to Adjust Pound's Exchange Rate over Two Years

Sudanese banknotes are displayed at a foreign currency brokerage office in Khartoum, Oct. 7, 2018. (AFP)
Sudanese banknotes are displayed at a foreign currency brokerage office in Khartoum, Oct. 7, 2018. (AFP)

Sudan’s adjusted budget for 2020 includes measures to adjust the exchange rate of the country’s pound, allowing it to achieve its “real price” over the coming two years, the acting finance minister said on Wednesday.

The private sector will be allowed to import unlimited quantities of fuel to address shortages, which will lead to a “rationalization” of its price, Hiba Mohamed Ali told a cabinet meeting, state news agency SUNA reported.

The government will continue to subsidize wheat, medicines, and cooking gas under the new budget, she said.

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Egypt Completes Trial Run of New Suez Canal Channel Extension

An Egyptian navy vessel see in the Suez Canal, March 30, 2021. (AFP/Getty Images)
An Egyptian navy vessel see in the Suez Canal, March 30, 2021. (AFP/Getty Images)
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Egypt Completes Trial Run of New Suez Canal Channel Extension

An Egyptian navy vessel see in the Suez Canal, March 30, 2021. (AFP/Getty Images)
An Egyptian navy vessel see in the Suez Canal, March 30, 2021. (AFP/Getty Images)

Egypt said on Saturday it had successfully tested a new 10 km channel near the southern end of the Suez Canal.

The Suez Canal Authority said in a statement that during a trial run two ships passed through a new stretch of the canal's two-way section without incident.

Following the 2021 grounding of the container ship Ever Given that blocked the vital waterway for six days, Egypt accelerated plans to extend the second channel in the southern reaches of the canal and widen the existing channel.

Its revenue from the waterway, the gateway to the shortest route between Europe and Asia, has nevertheless tumbled since Yemen's Houthi militias began attacking ships in the Red Sea in November 2023 in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Thursday that due to "regional challenges", the country had lost approximately $7 billion in Suez Canal revenue in 2024, marking more than a 60% drop from 2023.

According to the Suez Canal Authority, the latest expansion extends the total length of the canal's two-way section to 82 km from a previous 72 km. The canal is 193 km long in total.

"This expansion will boost the canal's capacity by an additional 6 to 8 ships daily and enhance its ability to handle potential emergencies," the Suez Canal Authority said in its statement.

Earlier this year, Egypt said that it was considering an additional expansion project separate to the 10 km channel extension.