Face of Truth | Ibrahim Shglawi The Arab Fund… and the State Economy

Sudan’s return to the table of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development carries an important significance concerning the country’s future and its ability to rebuild its economy and infrastructure after the war. The Minister of Finance, Dr. Gibril Ibrahim, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Sudan, Ms. Amna Mirghani, discussed with the Director General and Chairman of the Fund’s Board of Directors, Dr. Fawzi Yusuf Al-Hanif, ways to address existing obligations and create the conditions for resuming development financing, confirming that Sudan has entered a new phase based on rebuilding and creating opportunities for the economy.

This step gains its significance from the Fund’s long-standing history in Sudan. It has been a major partner in financing strategic projects that formed part of the state’s economic infrastructure, foremost among them the Merowe Dam, the Raising of the Roseires Dam, the Upper Atbara and Setit Dams Complex, as well as electricity, roads, and water projects. These projects contributed to shaping sectors directly linked to citizens’ livelihoods.

Here lies the importance of resuming financing. Sudan today does not need merely to restart what has been halted, but rather to redefine its development priorities. The war has caused extensive damage to infrastructure, weakened electricity, water, and transport networks, and placed enormous pressure on public finances and the banking sector. Therefore, Arab development financing can be transformed from a tool for financing projects into a lever for rebuilding the national economy if it is directed according to a clear vision and projects with a direct economic impact.

Perhaps the energy sector comes at the forefront of these priorities. The Fund’s previous experience in financing electricity and dam projects provides a foundation for a partnership that can be built upon to restore generation and transmission capacities, expand networks, and connect production areas with consumption centers.

 The same applies to national roads, water, and agriculture, sectors without which the economy cannot regain its health, as they represent the infrastructure for production and social development stability.

But the real challenge does not lie in obtaining financing, but rather in how to manage it and transform it into sustainable development value. Hence the importance of what the Minister of Finance proposed regarding addressing existing obligations, as a necessary gateway to restoring confidence and opening the way for new financing programs. The Central Bank Governor’s emphasis on the importance of financial and banking cooperation also indicates that economic recovery will not be achieved through government projects alone, but requires a banking sector capable of financing production and mobilizing domestic capital.

More importantly, the Fund, as an Arab development institution, with Sudan being one of its founding countries, does not deal with Sudan as an emergency case, but as a historic partner that can regain its position within the Arab development cooperation system.

 Therefore, Dr. Fawzi Yusuf Al-Hanif’s emphasis on the depth of the historical relations and the need to benefit from the Fund’s programs represents a development and economic opportunity that should not be wasted. It should also be approached with a discerning vision.

However, the new phase requires a change in the philosophy of borrowing itself. Sudan does not need financing that adds new burdens on the state as much as it needs financing that generates income, creates jobs, increases production, restarts factories and agricultural projects, supports the private sector, and serves the groups most affected by the war. This means that the priority should shift toward building an integrated production system that connects infrastructure with the real economy.

From this perspective, the agreement to expand cooperation to include support for the private sector and programs directed at low-income groups represents an important development. Reconstruction should be a broad economic and social process in which citizens, producers, businessmen, and farmers are part of the recovery cycle.

However, the road is not without obstacles. Sudan lies at the heart of regional competition over influence, resources, ports, trade corridors, food security, and minerals. Therefore, electricity, water, agriculture, and port projects may shift from economic opportunities into geopolitical cards, making Arab financing at times subject to considerations that go beyond economics, while some powers fear that rebuilding Sudan could alter the balance of influence in the region.

This requires Khartoum to manage its return to Arab financing institutions with political wisdom, away from dependence on any axis or turning development into an arena of conflict. What is required are balanced partnerships that maximize the national interest. Sudan, with its location on the Red Sea, its resources, and its weight in the Horn of Africa, is too significant for the rebuilding of its economy to become hostage to regional or international balances.

On the other hand, the Arab Fund has a nature that makes cooperation with it different from short-term economic assistance. It is a regional institution that finances public- and private-sector projects and provides grants and expertise, placing economic and social development at the heart of its work. Therefore, restoring cooperation with it should be based on mature technical files, genuine feasibility studies, clear priorities, and implementation and oversight mechanisms that prevent a repetition of the problems of stalled projects.

According to #Face_of_Truth, the Arab Fund should not be viewed as a treasury for financing, but as a partner in rebuilding the state’s economy by linking infrastructure to production, empowering the private sector, and supporting agriculture, energy, transport, and food security. Reconstruction is not merely the restoration of assets, but the restoration of the economy’s capacity for production and growth. Hence, the Fund’s return to Sudan is not merely an opportunity for new financing, but an opportunity to resume the development path interrupted by the war.

Wishing you continued health and well-being.

Monday, August 24, 2026

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