(JUBA) – South Sudan is seeking Saudi investment and stronger World Bank support after a week of financial diplomacy in Bangkok, with the Caretaker Minister of Finance and Planning, Athian Ding Athian, returning to Juba on Sunday morning, the Finance Ministry said.
Athian was received at Juba International Airport by Ayuel T. Malek, Tax Policy Advisor in his office, among other officials, according to the ministry.
During the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings in Thailand, Athian held a series of bilateral talks on the sidelines, including a meeting with the Saudi Development Fund, the ministry said.
The government delegation met the Fund’s Chief Executive Officer, Sultan Al Marshad. According to the ministry, the talks covered investment opportunities for Saudi Arabian businesses in different sectors of South Sudan’s economy, economic cooperation between Juba and Riyadh, and private sector development.
The Central Bank Governor, Dr Addis Ababa Othow, also attended that meeting, the ministry said.
Athian separately met the World Bank Executive Director for Africa Group 1, Dr Zarau Wendeline Kibwe, ahead of the plenary for the Africa Group 1 Constituency, according to the ministry.
South Sudan is one of 22 African nations in the group, which represents member states’ voices and interests and helps shape development strategies, regional lending, and development projects.
The ministry said their discussion covered stronger economic cooperation between South Sudan and the World Bank in project funding, technical assistance, additional financing for existing programmes, and debt management.
Athian was accompanied by Governor Othow, Undersecretary of Planning Benjamin Ayali, and senior officials from the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank, the ministry said.
Athian also attended the African Caucus plenary for Governors and Alternate Governors, chaired by World Bank President Ajay Banga. According to the ministry, the meeting discussed mobilising private capital to create jobs, promoting investment, minerals exploration, industrialisation, and infrastructure development across Africa.
He later joined an IMF African Caucus session chaired by Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, held under the theme “Financing Africa’s Resilience, Growth and Economic Transformation in a more Shock-prone Global Environment,” the ministry said.
That session covered strengthening the global financing safety net, deepening domestic debt markets, reducing the cost of international capital, and creating fiscal space while safeguarding debt sustainability.
The African Caucus chairmanship was handed over from Gambia’s Governor Seedy K. M. Keira to Lesetja Kganyago, Governor of the South African Reserve Bank.
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