July 4, 2021-(Khartoum) The British Embassy in Sudan has announced that the Special Envoys to Sudan and South Sudan from the United Kingdom, Norway and the United States (the Troika) are in Khartoum until 6 July.
This visit follows the launch of Prime Minister Hamdok’s initiative to achieve the goals of the revolution and the announcement by the IMF that Sudan’s recent economic reforms have led to the clearance of Sudan’s arrears to the World Bank, African Development Bank and IMF, opening the door to billions of dollars of new finance to improve the quality of life for the people of Sudan.
Robert Fairweather (United Kingdom), Donald Booth (United States) and Endre Stiansen (Norway) will meet PM Hamdok, Lt. Gen Burhan, Lt. Gen Mohammed Hamdan Daglo and other senior figures in the Government of Sudan to welcome the Prime Minister’s new initiative and discuss how the Troika can support implementation. In particular, the Envoys will welcome the commitment by the Government of Sudan to transfer the ICC indictees to the Hague.
The Envoys will also meet Finance Minister, Dr Gibril Ibrahim, to discuss the recent economic breakthrough. On 29 June, the IMF announced that Sudan has reached decision point under HIPC debt relief which means that half of Sudan’s $56bn in debt is forgiven. Sudan is now set to access $4.5bn of finance from the World Bank and IMF. This new finance will support economic stabilisation and development priorities like healthcare and education including in conflict affected areas.
The Troika will also follow-up on their witnessing of the Juba Peace Agreement on 8 June. They will discuss crucial next steps for the implementation of the Agreement, including the formation of the Joint Force to protect civilians in Darfur. Earlier, the Envoys visited Kauda to meet the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North/Abdelaziz al-Hilu and discuss the resumption of peace negotiations, based on the Declaration of Principles agreed by the SPLM-N/al Hilu and the Government of Sudan on 28 March