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Gulf States: A Paradoxical Economic Lifeline for Sudan

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For decades, Gulf states have provided crucial financial assistance to Sudan. Gulf interest in Sudan is driven by economic benefits and geopolitical competition, though each country has its own interests and approach. 

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Photo aérienne de magasins de nourriture et de récoltes à l'ouest de la ville d'Omdurman (Soudan) pillés et brûlés en juin 2023.
Photo aérienne de magasins de nourriture et de récoltes à l'ouest de la ville d'Omdurman (Soudan) pillés et brûlés en juin 2023.
Shutterstock / nom du photographe
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On the other hand, the Gulf’s appeal to Sudan is three-fold. First, they have quickly available money when others are shying away. In recent years, Gulf states have become the primary sources of foreign direct investment and first trade partners. Second, their indifference toward sanctions has helped the government and Sudanese businesses to navigate the difficult twenty years of American sanctions. Third, while Sudan’s conflicts are ignored by everyone, Gulf countries are ready to mediate. 

Yet, Gulf economic engagement in Sudan has created an unbalanced situation where Sudan was obliged to give political and economic concessions against the Gulf cash largesse. This vital source of money has helped to consolidate and prolong the authoritarian regimes of Jaafer Mohamed Nimeiri and Omar Hassan al-Bashir. The current conflict has interrupted the Gulf projects and shrank private investment. Still, it is unlikely to halt the Gulf economic engagement in Sudan, at least because Sudan could leverage their food insecurity and the Red Sea threats.

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979-10-373-0898-6

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Gulf States: A Paradoxical Economic Lifeline for Sudan

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KAMPALA, UGANDA - SEPTEMBER 28, 2012. A look at life on the side streets of Kampala, Uganda
Governing the Urban Transition in Africa
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Sub-Saharan Africa's cities are experiencing the fastest growth rates in the world. By 2050, most of the countries in the region will have made an urban transition, meaning that more than 50% of their population will live in urban areas. Urban growth is often presented as a cornerstone of the continent's socio-economic development.

To assess these challenges Ifri’s Sub-Saharan Africa Center is launching, in May 2022, a research program looking into the major socio-economic and geopolitical challenges of urban dynamics on the continent.

The program deals with urban development in Africa through a sectoral and cross-cutting approach based on three key sectors: 

  1. Land issues are the foundation of urban life. Each urban project triggers changes within the relationship between land and its inhabitants.
  2. Urban infrastructure is often presented as a solution to the challenges of demographic growth in cities. However, the lack of infrastructure and its financing remains a concern for specialists.
  3. The mobility of goods, people and financial flows is characteristic of urban life and drives the multiple links between cities and the countryside. Analyzing the urban-rural continuum is at the heart of this program's objectives.

Research will be conducted at the macro (continental), meso (country), and micro (city/neighborhood) levels and will be promoted through events and publications.

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Subsaharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa Center
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Founded in 2007, Ifri's Sub-Saharan Africa center produces an in-depth analysis of the African continent and its security, geopolitical, political and socio-economic dynamics (in particular the phenomenon of urbanization). The Center aims to be both, through various publications and conferences, a space for disseminating analyzes intended for the media and the public but also a decision-making tool for political and economic actors with regard to the continent.

The center produces analyses for various organizations such as the Ministry of the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the French Development Agency (AFD) and even for various private supports. Its researchers are regularly interviewed by parliamentary committees.

The organization of events of various formats complements the production of analyzes by bringing the different spheres of the public space (academic, political, media, economic and civil society) to meet and exchange analytical tools and visions of the continent. The Sub-Saharan Africa Center regularly welcomes political leaders from different sub-Saharan African countries.

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The Influence of Strategic Subnational Diplomacy in International Relations

Date de publication
16 September 2024
Accroche

The international engagement of cities and local governments has increased and diversified recently. Mainly understood by the public as the cultural and academic ties cultivated within the sister-city framework, these connections now bear deeper and more strategic implications. 

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Photo aérienne de magasins de nourriture et de récoltes à l'ouest de la ville d'Omdurman (Soudan) pillés et brûlés en juin 2023.
Shutterstock / nom du photographe
Photo aérienne de magasins de nourriture et de récoltes à l'ouest de la ville d'Omdurman (Soudan) pillés et brûlés en juin 2023.
Shutterstock / nom du photographe

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Gulf States: A Paradoxical Economic Lifeline for Sudan