South Sudan delegation, led by Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. Marial Dongrin, convened a meeting with World Bank officials in Washington, D.C., discussing potential economic transformation initiatives.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the ongoing Spring Meetings of World Bank and International Monetary Fund, a key global forum for discussing economic and financial challenges and development strategies.
For South Sudan, this comes at a time, the economy, heavily reliant on oil revenues, faces substantial challenges.
Continued conflict in Sudan, an oil supply route, has severely damaged infrastructure, affecting the country’s revenues. Meanwhile, disrupted agricultural production has also been undermined due to instability in most parts of the country.
Over the past years, South Sudan has also struggled with high inflation, currency depreciation, and weak public financial management systems.
The discussions, which also included World Bank’s Vice-President in charge of Development Finance, focused on detailed sectoral engagement and how the government can properly manage funds.
Key areas included tracking the performance and implementation progress of specific projects across vital sectors such as Agriculture, Health, Education, Water Resources, Transport, and, notably, Public Financial Management.
According to a statement seen by this outlet, Minister Dongrin assured World Bank officials of South Sudan’s commitment to advancing its economic transformation agenda.
Minister Dongrin acknowledged the important financial and technical assistance provided by the World Bank Group to South Sudan.
He recognized the World Bank’s vital role in supporting the country’s search for sustainable economic growth. The minister noted South Sudan government’s recent achievements in strengthening revenue collection mechanisms to promote economic stability.
Minister Dongrin also used the opportunity to appeal for additional financial resources and expanded institutional capacity-building programs to support the country’s development objectives.
In addition to the World Bank discussions, Minister Dongrin held several other key sideline meetings with prominent development partners.
These meetings included discussions with the Second Permanent Undersecretary of the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), Nick Dyer, the Vice President and a delegation from African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).
