Saudi Arabia will host on Wednesday the “Friends of Sudan” conference that is aimed addressing the challenges confronting the country in achieving peace and stability.
The transitional government in Khartoum also hopes that meeting will provide it with more support to tackle the ongoing economic crisis gripping the country.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok will open the conference, which will begin in the afternoon. A number of senior members of the transitional authority, as well as leaders of armed factions, are set to attend the event.
In a telephone call with Hamdok last week, Prince Faisal had expressed the Kingdom’s interest in developing its investments in Sudan. He also said it was keen on maintaining cooperation with Khartoum to preserve Red Sea security and ensure the success of the transition period.
Government spokesman and Minister of Information and Culture Faisal Mohamed Saleh told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Riyadh conference is an extension of previous meetings held by Khartoum’s friends and partners.
Germany had hosted a donor conference for Sudan back in June. Foreign donor nations pledged $1.8 billion to help it ease an economic crisis hampering its transition towards democracy after the ouster of president Omar al-Bashir last year.
