Bangkok (SUNA) – On the sidelines of the annual meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Sudan’s Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr. Gebreil Ibrahim, accompanied by First Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Sudan (CBOS) Motasem Abdallah Ahmed Al-Faki, held a bilateral meeting with Dr. Abdalhamid Al-Khalifa, Director-General of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID). The meeting discussed mechanisms for settling Sudan’s outstanding financial arrears and the steps needed to create conditions for resuming access to the development financing provided by the Fund. Both sides agreed to move forward with addressing the arrears through the provision of bridge financing and to immediately begin negotiations between the relevant technical teams from both sides to reach an appropriate debt settlement. Progress on this track would pave the way for the resumption of financing cooperation and broaden opportunities to benefit from the Fund’s resources in supporting priority development projects, developing infrastructure, improving essential services, and strengthening productive sectors, particularly agriculture and energy. This step is particularly important for enhancing Sudan’s prospects of mobilising the resources needed to finance its development priorities and expanding its partnerships with international financing institutions. These efforts could help stimulate investment, increase productivity, support private-sector activities, and create jobs. The resumption of financing, subject to the arrangements to be agreed upon and the Fund’s established procedures, could also create greater opportunities to implement projects with economic and social benefits and strengthen the national economy’s capacity to achieve more sustainable growth. Both sides underscored the importance of continuing coordination and technical cooperation to complete the necessary financial and procedural arrangements. This would strengthen confidence in cooperation between Sudan and the Fund and translate their understandings into practical steps that open new prospects for development partnership and support Sudan’s efforts to mobilise the resources required to achieve its economic and development priorities.BH/BH