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Sudan, UAE ink deal for port project

Sudan, UAE ink deal for port project

Sudan and the United Arab Emirates have struck a deal to build a new port on the Red Sea coast. At a cost of US $ 6billion, Abu Dhabi Ports Group and

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Sudan and the United Arab Emirates have struck a deal to build a new port on the Red Sea coast. At a cost of US $ 6billion, Abu Dhabi Ports Group and Invictus Investment will build and manage the new port of Abu Amama, about 200 kilometers (about 124 miles) north of Sudan’s only other port, Port Sudan.

The announcement comes a week after Sudan’s ruling military generals signed a “framework agreement” with the country’s main pro-democracy group, among other political forces, which could spur a new civilian government and military removed from power.

Framework deal

The framework deal however, offers only a rough outline of how the country expects to resume its road to democracy and has been rejected by several major political forces. Further talks for a second more inclusive deal are expected soon.

“The port of Abu Amama will include an international airport, a network of internal roads and a power station, among other features. The site will be a ”special economic zone” for trade and business between the Sudanese government and the two UAE businesses,” said Sudanese Finance Minister Gibreel Ibrahim.

The UAE, along with the United States, The United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia helped broker last week’s framework deal after facilitating months of cross-party talks. The Gulf state has been a leading investor in Sudan in recent years, an ally of its military generals and a large consumer of Sudanese gold.

Sudan has been plunged into turmoil since the country’s leading military figure, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, led a coup in October 2021 that upended the country’s democratic transition following three decades of autocratic rule by Omar al-Bashir.