The World Bank has urged Sudan to undertake swift structural reforms to revive its ailing economy. During a briefing in Khartoum on Sunday, World Bank officials said that Sudan should infuse institutional and macro economic reforms including devaluing the Sudanese pound against the dollar, to achieve stable growth.
The report indicated that a stable exchange rate will help in formulating monetary and fiscal policies that support economic stability and competitiveness. While rising inflation and the loss of nearly 75 percent of oil earnings following the split of South Sudan in 2011 have led to a decline in economic growth.
The official rate of the Sudanese pound is 6.50 to the dollar, but it trades for about 15.50 on the black market. Additionally, a US trade embargo imposed since 1997 has made international trade with the country cumbersome prompting Sudanese officials to blame the US over the dilapidated state of the economy.
The embargo was imposed over Khartoum’s alleged backing for radical Islamist groups and the conflict in the western region of Darfur. Sudan’s average Growth Domestic Product stood above 6 percent between 1998-2008 but has steadily declined to around 3 percent currently. Read the rest of this story here.