KHARTOUM, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank (WB) on Sunday announced to provide technical support for Sudan to face economic challenges in general financial administration, financial systems and economic planning.
A WB delegation on Sunday held talks in Sudan's capital Khartoum with Sudan's Finance Minister Mohamed Osman Al-Rikabi.
World Bank Resident Representative in Sudan, Adama Coulibaly, told reporters following the talks that the WB is to provide necessary technical support for Sudan to face the current economic challenges.
He said the WB is determined to increase the number of the economic team members working in Sudan and strengthen coordination with government.
The meeting discussed development of the private sector's contribution to the economic revival in long term and increase in exports, said Coulibaly.
Rikabi, for his part, told reporters that he briefed the visiting WB delegation about the economic reforms of Sudan.
He noted that the delegation came to Sudan to get acquainted with the economic reforms adopted by the government and provide the required technical support.
Sudan has been suffering an escalating economic crisis since the secession of South Sudan in 2011, which caused it to lose around 75 percent of its oil revenues, resulting in surging inflation rate and depreciating national currency.
Late last December, the Sudanese parliament approved the country's general budget for 2018.
The budget introduced measures to reduce government expenditure, including stopping construction of government buildings and purchase of vehicles, and ceasing all incentives and bonuses unless authorized by the Ministry of Finance.
The budget intends to achieve a growth rate of 4 percent and reduce the inflation rate to 19.5 percent.
According to the most recent official statistics, Sudan's inflation rate continued rising to 57.65 percent in April compared to 55.6 percent in March.
