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Saudi-Sudanese Council Forms Committee to Address Saudi Investments in Sudan

A boy stands next to a donkey loaded with jerry cans by the Atbarah river near the village of Dukouli in the Fashaqa al-Sughra agricultural region of Sudan's eastern Gedaref state on March 16, 2021. (AFP / ASHRAF SHAZLY)
A boy stands next to a donkey loaded with jerry cans by the Atbarah river near the village of Dukouli in the Fashaqa al-Sughra agricultural region of Sudan's eastern Gedaref state on March 16, 2021. (AFP / ASHRAF SHAZLY)
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Saudi-Sudanese Council Forms Committee to Address Saudi Investments in Sudan

A boy stands next to a donkey loaded with jerry cans by the Atbarah river near the village of Dukouli in the Fashaqa al-Sughra agricultural region of Sudan's eastern Gedaref state on March 16, 2021. (AFP / ASHRAF SHAZLY)
A boy stands next to a donkey loaded with jerry cans by the Atbarah river near the village of Dukouli in the Fashaqa al-Sughra agricultural region of Sudan's eastern Gedaref state on March 16, 2021. (AFP / ASHRAF SHAZLY)

The Saudi-Sudanese Business Council will form a committee to handle the issues of Saudi investments in Sudan.

Saudi investors in Sudan have expressed concerns about the unstable situation in the country.

An atmosphere of optimism prevailed about a promising future for Saudi investments in Sudan, in light of the positive economic and financial data that emerged recently, after the political agreement that reinstated the Prime Minister back to his position.

The Chairman Council, Hussein Bahri, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Council monitored during the last period several challenges and obstacles facing Saudi investors in Sudan as a result of the current conditions.

The "crisis committee" will hold weekly meetings to address the challenges facing Saudi investments and tackle any complaints.

It called on Saudi investors facing investment problems in Sudan to reach out to the committee.

Bahri stressed the need to protect and secure Saudi investments and solve any issues related to ensure their influential role in supporting the Sudanese economy.

"Saudi investments in Sudan are estimated at more than $4 billion... We are fully confident in the officials' keenness to ensure their operations through the required efficiency and providing its requirements such as fuel, means of transportation, and production requirements," Bahri said.

The Saudi-Sudanese Business Council focused on these issues during recent meetings it held at the Council for Saudi Chambers. Interlocutors discussed the recent developments in Sudan and their potential impacts on Saudi investments, and the options available to deal with the challenges.

The committee is expected to develop a clear strategy to solve the issues facing the investments, with the necessity of activating the Saudi-Sudanese banking mechanisms after Sudan was finally removed from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Saudi investors look forward to correcting the business environment and creating a climate that encourages investment, contributing to solving the economic crisis while offering ideas that attract investment.

Khartoum had earlier confirmed it would look into several lawsuits filed by Saudi investors in Sudan after confiscating their investment lands.

Sudan's minister of investment and international cooperation, Al-Hadi Mohamed Ibrahim, stressed the need to establish a strategic plan to solve the issues of Saudi investment, adding that he looks forward to activating the banking mechanism between the two countries.

Ibrahim estimated that about $35 billion worth of investments were expected to enter the country, but they stopped after the recent political developments.

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US Determines Sudan's RSF Committed Genocide, Imposes Sanctions on Leader

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)
Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)
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US Determines Sudan's RSF Committed Genocide, Imposes Sanctions on Leader

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)
Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)

The United States determined on Tuesday that members of Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias committed genocide in Sudan and it imposed sanctions on the group's leader over a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people and driven millions from their homes.

The moves deal a blow to the RSF's attempts to burnish its image and assert legitimacy - including by installing a civilian government- as the paramilitary group seeks to expand its territory beyond the roughly half of the country it currently controls.

The RSF rejected the measures.

"America previously punished the great African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela, which was wrong. Today, it is rewarding those who started the war by punishing (RSF leader) General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, which is also wrong," said an RSF spokesman when reached for comment.

The war in Sudan has produced waves of ethnically driven violence blamed largely on the RSF. It has also carried out mass looting campaigns across swathes of the country, arbitrarily killing and sexually assaulting civilians in the process.

The RSF denies harming civilians and attributes the activity to rogue actors it says it is trying to control.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement the RSF and aligned militias had continued to direct attacks against civilians, adding they had systematically murdered men and boys on an ethnic basis and had deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of sexual violence.

The militias have also targeted fleeing civilians and murdered innocent people escaping conflict, Blinken said.

"The United States is committed to holding accountable those responsible for these atrocities," Blinken said.

Washington announced sanctions on the leader of the RSF, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, barring him and his family from travelling to the US and freezing any US assets he might hold. Financial institutions and others that engage in certain activity with him also risk being hit with sanctions themselves.

It had previously sanctioned other leaders, as well as army officials, but had not sanctioned Dagalo, known as Hemedti, as attempts to bring the two sides to talks continued.

Such attempts have stalled in recent months.

"As the overall commander of the RSF, Hemedti bears command responsibility for the abhorrent and illegal actions of his forces," the Treasury said.

Sudan's army and RSF have been fighting for almost two years, creating a humanitarian crisis in which UN agencies struggle to deliver relief. More than half of Sudan's population faces hunger, and famine has been declared in several areas.

The war erupted in April 2023 amid a power struggle between the army and RSF ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule.

Blinken said in the statement that "both belligerents bear responsibility for the violence and suffering in Sudan and lack the legitimacy to govern a future peaceful Sudan."

The US has sanctioned army leaders as well as individuals and entities linked to financing its weapons procurement. Last year, Blinken accused the RSF and the army, which has carried out numerous indiscriminate air strikes, of war crimes.