The UAE has pledged to donate Dh55 million to help school-going children in Sudan. The financial assistance from the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development will be utilized to buy necessary school provisions so that the children have access to good education.

Abu Dhabi Fund for Development will ensure that they will be providing supplies for 400,000 pupils. The first batch of school equipment has already been sent; it will be distributed to 10,000 pupils. All the school supplies will be given to Sudanese officials by February 2020.

To receive the first shipment of the donated supplies UAE Ambassador to the Republic of Sudan, Hamad Mohammed Humaid Al Junaibi and Governor of Khartoum State, Lt Gen Ahmed Abdoun Hammad were present. The aid is part of the Dh11 billion Saudi Arabia-UAE assistance package that was announced in April this year.

Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director-General of ADFD, said that the UAE is bound by “brotherly ties” and this support testifies the same. He also said that they are keen on helping Sudan by providing all educational, nutritional and medical requirements to the Sudanese people.

Al Suwaidi emphasized that the first step in the development of any nation is when the future citizens of the country are educated, so that will be their first priority,

At this stage, supporting the education sector in Sudan and enabling students to learn in modern classrooms equipped with essential school supplies, as well as providing food, medicine and basic commodities for the Sudanese people are core priorities for the UAE and ADFD.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE as part of their efforts has deposited Dh1.83billion in the Central Bank of Sudan that has been equally divided between both the countries. Both the Gulf nations have also exported 540,000 tonnes of wheat valued $150m to ensure there is food security for three months in Sudan. The rest of the financial aid will help fulfill the urgent requirements such as medicine, petroleum derivatives and seasonal agricultural supplies, and to boost sustainable economic expansion in Sudan.