IMF, South Sudan in Pact for Emergency Funds of $112.7 Mln

Sacs of corn are loaded onto trucks in the Sudanese Red Sea city of Port Sudan, as part of the US support for Sudan in the field of humanitarian aid, on November 20, 2022. (AFP)
Sacs of corn are loaded onto trucks in the Sudanese Red Sea city of Port Sudan, as part of the US support for Sudan in the field of humanitarian aid, on November 20, 2022. (AFP)
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IMF, South Sudan in Pact for Emergency Funds of $112.7 Mln

Sacs of corn are loaded onto trucks in the Sudanese Red Sea city of Port Sudan, as part of the US support for Sudan in the field of humanitarian aid, on November 20, 2022. (AFP)
Sacs of corn are loaded onto trucks in the Sudanese Red Sea city of Port Sudan, as part of the US support for Sudan in the field of humanitarian aid, on November 20, 2022. (AFP)

The International Monetary Fund and South Sudan have reached a staff-level agreement for the release of about $112.7 million in emergency financing, the fund said on Tuesday. 

"This emergency financing under the new Food Shock Window will help South Sudan address food insecurity, support social spending, and boost international reserves," the IMF said in a statement. 

The IMF's executive board will approve the financing in coming weeks, the fund said. 

In early-November, United Nations agencies said up to 7.8 million people in South Sudan, two-third of the population, may face severe food shortages during next year's April-to-July lean season due to floods, drought and conflict. 

On Tuesday, the IMF put the number of people experiencing severe food insecurity at an estimated 8.3 million. 

"The combination of continued localized conflict, four consecutive years of severe flooding, and the rising price of staple commodities from Russia's war in Ukraine has increased the number of people experiencing severe food insecurity," it said. 

South Sudan erupted into civil war shortly after getting independence from Sudan in 2011 and while a peace agreement signed four years ago is largely holding, the transitional government has been slow to unify various military factions. 



Indonesia, Singapore Sign Deals on Power Trade, Carbon Capture 

Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia speaks to the media during a press conference at the presidential palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP) 
Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia speaks to the media during a press conference at the presidential palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP) 
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Indonesia, Singapore Sign Deals on Power Trade, Carbon Capture 

Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia speaks to the media during a press conference at the presidential palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP) 
Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia speaks to the media during a press conference at the presidential palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP) 

Indonesia and Singapore signed initial deals on Friday to develop cross-border trade in low carbon electricity and collaborate on carbon capture and storage, ministers from both countries said in Jakarta.

The electricity deal reaffirmed an earlier agreement to export solar power from Indonesia to Singapore, with a group of companies planning to build plants and grid infrastructure to generate and transmit the power.

The memorandum of understanding signed by the two countries says they will aim to draw up policies, regulatory frameworks and business arrangements that will enable Indonesian power to be delivered to Singapore.

Indonesia expects to export 3.4 gigawatts of low-carbon power by 2035, according to a presentation slide shown by Indonesia's energy minister Bahlil Lahadalia.

In another MoU, the two countries said they would look into drawing up a legally binding agreement for carbon capture and storage that would allow cross-border projects to go ahead.

If successful, it will be the first such project in Asia, said Singapore government minister Tan See Leng.

Energy firms BP, ExxonMobil, and Indonesia's state company Pertamina are already developing CCS projects in Indonesia.

With its depleted oil and gas reservoirs and saline aquifers capable of storing hundreds of gigatons of CO2, Indonesia has allowed CCS operators to set aside 30% of their storage capacity for carbon captured in other countries.

The two countries also signed a deal for the development of sustainable industrial zones on several Indonesian islands near Singapore, including Batam, Bintan and Karimun.

Bahlil said the deals could bring in more than $10 billion of investment from the manufacturing of solar panels, the development of CCS projects and potential investment in industrial estates.