Sudan is turning to its large diaspora in Saudi Arabia for much-needed foreign currency as the war-hit country looks for ways to stabilise its economy and fund reconstruction.
The Ministry of Finance is finalising an electronic payment framework that will connect with mobile banking applications in Saudi Arabia, State Minister of Finance Mohamed Nour Abdel Daim said on Saturday.
The system is expected to make it easier for Sudanese in the Gulf kingdom to send money home through regulated financial channels.
Khartoum hopes the shift will increase foreign-exchange inflows, support the banking sector and improve revenue collection.
The initiative comes as remittances take on greater importance in Sudan’s battered economy, with the country receiving about $900 million in officially recorded personal remittances in 2024, according to World Bank data.
Actual inflows could be higher because a significant share of transfers moves through informal networks and does not appear in official statistics.
The gap has become more significant since war erupted in April 2023, damaging infrastructure, disrupting trade, displacing millions and worsening longstanding economic weaknesses.
Sudan’s economy contracted by 14% in 2024, according to World Bank data, highlighting the scale of the downturn.
Saudi Arabia is central to the plan because it hosts a large Sudanese community and remains a major destination for migrant workers.
Still, many Sudanese in Riyadh and Jeddah increasingly rely on informal transfer networks.
The preference reflects a widening gap between official and parallel exchange rates, tighter compliance requirements and repeated telecom disruptions inside Sudan.
Khartoum is consequently seeking to make regulated channels more competitive, reliable and accessible.
Abdel Daim said the Finance Ministry is working with the Ministry of Digital Transformation and Telecommunications to build the cross-border payment infrastructure.
If implemented successfully, the platform could redirect part of the money now moving through informal networks into the banking system.
That would give Sudan greater access to foreign currency at a time when the economy is under severe pressure.
Abdel Daim also described Sudanese living in Saudi Arabia as important partners in economic stabilisation and eventual reconstruction.
The approach mirrors a wider trend across Africa, where diaspora remittances have become an important source of external financing.
Sudan, however, faces added constraints because the war has damaged the financial and telecommunications systems needed to process those flows.
Alongside the payments push, the government is offering incentives to Sudanese considering returning home.
Abdel Daim said returnees would receive full customs and tax exemptions on residential solar-energy equipment and personal property, as well as waivers on domestic water utility charges.
The solar incentives could prove especially important in areas where fighting has damaged electricity infrastructure and disrupted basic services.
The Finance Ministry is also reviewing spending at Sudan’s diplomatic missions abroad as part of a broader effort to preserve state resources.
Abdel Daim said the government wants to shift some overseas operational expenditure into sovereign capital assets.
The policy is intended to convert part of recurrent diplomatic spending into longer-term state-owned holdings.
The measures were announced during a ceremony to lay the cornerstone for Sudan’s new consulate general premises in Jeddah.
Foreign Minister Mohi El Din Salem and representatives of the Sudanese community in Saudi Arabia attended the event.
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