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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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Israel Hits Beirut after Rockets Fired from South Lebanon, Warns Govt to Enforce Ceasefire or it Will

People gather at the site of an Israeli strike in southern Beirut on March 28, 2025. (AFP)
People gather at the site of an Israeli strike in southern Beirut on March 28, 2025. (AFP)
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Israel Hits Beirut after Rockets Fired from South Lebanon, Warns Govt to Enforce Ceasefire or it Will

People gather at the site of an Israeli strike in southern Beirut on March 28, 2025. (AFP)
People gather at the site of an Israeli strike in southern Beirut on March 28, 2025. (AFP)

Israel made good on its threat Friday to strike Beirut after rockets were fired towards its territory, rattling an already fragile truce in Lebanon that had largely ended more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah.

It was the second time rockets had been launched at Israel from Lebanon since the November ceasefire, and the second time the Iran-backed Hezbollah denied involvement.

After the attack, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said: "If there is no quiet in Kiryat Shmona and the Galilee communities, there will be no quiet in Beirut either."

Hours later, the Israeli military carried out its first strike in the capital's southern suburbs since the ceasefire after urging residents close to a building there to leave, warning they were "near Hezbollah facilities" and "must immediately evacuate".

It said the attack targeted a "site used to store UAVs by Hezbollah's Aerial Unit (127) in the area of Dahieh, a key Hezbollah terrorist stronghold in Beirut", which Israel bombed heavily during its war with the group last year.  

Israel's warning sparked panic in the densely populated area, with parents rushing to pick up their children from schools that quickly shut, AFP correspondents said.  

Heavy traffic clogged roads as many residents tried to flee.  

Katz said the Lebanese government must enforce the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah on its side of the border, or Israel would continue to conduct attacks.

"I am sending a clear message to the Lebanese government: If you do not enforce the ceasefire agreement, we will enforce it," he said in a statement after Israeli aircraft hit targets in Beirut.

Israel's military said early Friday two "projectiles" were fired towards Israel, with one intercepted and the other falling inside Lebanon.  

It later announced it was "striking Hezbollah terror targets in southern Lebanon".  

Hezbollah said it "confirms the party's respect for the ceasefire agreement and denies any involvement in the rockets launched today from the south of Lebanon".  

The group's leader, Naim Qassem, had been expected to give a speech in the southern suburbs later Friday, but Hezbollah said the event had now been cancelled.  

Katz said Lebanon's "government bears direct responsibility for any fire toward the Galilee".  

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam urged his army chief "to act quickly to... uncover those behind the irresponsible rocket fire that threatens Lebanon's stability" and arrest them.  

- Schools closed -  

The November ceasefire largely ended the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, although Israel has continued to conduct occasional strikes in southern Lebanon.  

French President Emmanuel Macron called the reported Israeli air strike on Lebanon "unacceptable" and a "violation of the ceasefire".  

France is on the committee tasked with overseeing the ceasefire.  

Friday's rocket fire came after Israeli strikes Thursday killed six people in the south, with Israel saying it had targeted Hezbollah members.  

NNA reported Israeli attacks in several parts of the south Friday. It said a strike on Kfar Tebnit southeast of Nabatiyeh killed one person and wounded 18, including three children.  

It also reported shelling in Naqoura, where the UN peacekeeping mission is based.  

UN special envoy for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert called the flare-up "deeply concerning" and urged restraint.  

"A return to wider conflict in Lebanon would be devastating for civilians on both sides of the Blue Line and must be avoided at all costs," she said.  

The NNA also reported raids on the Jezzine region north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the border with Israel.  

Schools closed in the Nabatieh area, an AFP correspondent said, as did some in Tyre which was hit by a deadly Israeli strike last weekend.  

"I decided to bring my children to school in spite of the situation, but the administration told me they had closed it after the Israeli threats and I had to take them back home," father of four Ali Qassem told AFP.  

- Escalation -  

Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel on October 8, 2023 in support of its ally Hamas following the Palestinian group's unprecedented attack on southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.  

The cross-border hostilities ultimately escalated into all-out war, with Israel conducting an intense bombing campaign in Lebanon and sending in ground troops.  

The truce brought a partial Israeli withdrawal, although its troops still hold five positions in south Lebanon that are deemed strategic, even after the pullout deadline.  

Last weekend saw the most intense escalation since the truce, with Israeli strikes in the south after rocket fire killing eight people, according to Lebanese officials.  

Hezbollah had also denied any involvement in that rocket attack, calling Israel's accusations "pretexts for its continued attacks on Lebanon".  

Under the ceasefire, Hezbollah was to pull its forces north of the Litani, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.  

Israel has also recently resumed intensive military operations in Gaza, shattering weeks of relative calm brought on by a January ceasefire with Hamas.