Samantha Power, the Director of the U.S. Agency for International Development, praised the transitional phase in Sudan during a visit to the country to discuss urgent economic and humanitarian needs with officials. Sudan has been going through a challenging transitional period since the overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir in April 2019. Before Power's visit, the U.S. agency noted the Western countries' efforts to support the transitional government after decades of authoritarian rule.
During a press conference in Khartoum, Power stated, "My focus during this visit... is directly on the economic development needs in Sudan and the ongoing humanitarian needs." She indicated that the United States aims to help Sudan "revitalize the economy" and "attract foreign investments."
The U.S. official later met with the Sudanese Foreign Minister and is expected to meet other senior officials before leaving on August 3. On Saturday, Power visited Darfur in western Sudan, where she spoke to people displaced by the conflict there.
Power tweeted on Saturday that she first visited Sudan in 2004 when she conducted investigative research on "genocide in Darfur." Her presence in Sudan marks the latest visit by a senior U.S. official to a country seeking to end decades of isolation under al-Bashir's rule. In December, Washington removed Sudan from its list of state sponsors of terrorism and later pledged to assist the country in settling arrears with the World Bank.
From Khartoum, Power will travel to Addis Ababa for talks with Ethiopian officials regarding humanitarian aid access to the conflict-affected Tigray region. Sudan has received tens of thousands of Ethiopian refugees since the outbreak of the conflict in Tigray in November of last year.
