Sudan

Brief Description

Sudan, once the largest and one of the most geographically diverse states

in Africa, split into two countries in July 2011 after the people of the south voted

for independence.

The government of Sudan gave its blessing for an independent South

Sudan, where the mainly Christian and Animist people had for decades been

struggling against rule by the Arab Muslim north.

However, various outstanding issues - especially the question of shared oil

revenues and border demarcation - have continued to create tensions between

the two successor states.

Sudan has long been beset by conflict. Two rounds of north-south civil war

cost the lives of 1.5 million people, and a continuing conflict in the western region

of Darfur has driven two million people from their homes and killed more than

200,000.

Republic of Sudan

Capital: Khartoum

Population 39.5 million

Major languages Arabic, English (official)

Major religion Islam

Life expectancy 63 years (men), 66 years (women)

Currency Sudanese pound

LEADER

President: Omar Hassan al-Bashir

Source: UN, World Bank [CITATION BBC181 \l 1033 ]

Sudan and the Philippines Relations

The Philippines recognized Sudan on 7 March 1956 and diplomatic

relations were established on 7 March 1976. In 2016, the Philippine Embassy,

which is accredited to Sudan, and the Philippine Honorary Consulate, jointly

organized a reception to commemorate the 40th anniversary of relations.

There are approximately 3,000 Filipinos working, studying and living in

Sudan. They are mainly in the educational, industrial and household service

sectors. The Philippine Honorary Consulate was established in 2006 to help the

Embassy in serving the consular needs of the Filipinos there.

Philippine exports to Sudan include gold, oil and petroleum products

cotton, sesame, livestock, ground nuts and sugar while imports include refinery

and transport equipment, chemicals, textiles and wheat. [ CITATION Emb171 \l 1033 ]

Geographical Intelligence

Land Area: 1,861,484 km2

Sudan, in northeast Africa, measures about one-fourth the size of the

United States. Its neighbors are Chad and the Central African Republic on the

west, Egypt and Libya on the north, Ethiopia and Eritrea on the east, and South

Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, and Democratic Republic of the Congo on the south.

The Red Sea washes about 500 mi of the eastern coast. It is traversed from north

to south by the Nile, all of whose great tributaries are partly or entirely within its

borders.

The landscape of Sudan consists mainly of flat plains punctuated by

several mountain ranges.

Economic Intelligence
 Sudan has experienced protracted social conflict, civil war, and, in July

2011, the loss of three-quarters of its oil production due to the secession of South

Sudan. The oil sector had driven much of Sudan's GDP growth since 1999. For

nearly a decade, the economy boomed on the back of rising oil production, high

oil prices, and significant inflows of foreign direct investment. Since the economic

shock of South Sudan's secession, Sudan has struggled to stabilize its economy

and make up for the loss of foreign exchange earnings.

Sudan - Economic Indicators

Markets Last Reference Previous Range Frequency

Currency 17.96  Aug/18 17.9 2.23 : 18.69 Daily
GDP Last Reference Previous Range Frequency
GDP Annual Growth 3.5 % Dec/17 3 1.4 : 7.7 Yearly
Rate
GDP 117 USD Billion Dec/17 95.58 1.13 : 117 Yearly
GDP per capita 1959 USD Dec/17 1924 701 : 1959 Yearly
GDP per capita PPP 4467 USD Dec/17 4386 1743 : 4467 Yearly
Labour Last Reference Previous Range Frequency
Unemployment Rate 12.7 % Dec/17 12.7 12.7 : 14.2 Yearly
Population 40.53 million Dec/17 39.58 7.54 : 40.53 Yearly
Prices Last Reference Previous Range Frequency
Inflation Rate 63.9 % Jun/18 60.9 -1 : 182 Monthly
Consumer Price 1125 Index Points Mar/18 1105 98.09 : 1125 Monthly
Index CPI
CPI Transportation 1326 Index Points Dec/17 1274 105 : 1326 Monthly
Money Last Reference Previous Range Frequency
Interest Rate 13.4 % Mar/18 14.7 7 : 17.3 Daily
Money Supply M1 160152 SDG May/18 154830 2634 : Monthly
Million 160152
Money Supply M2 296277 SDG May/18 287559 4269 : Monthly
Million 296277
Trade Last Reference Previous Range Frequency
Balance of Trade -360183 USD Mar/18 -406451 -5102027 : Monthly
Thousand 704214
Exports 283854 USD Mar/18 321007 141830 : Monthly
Thousand 4060977
Imports 644038 USD Mar/18 727458 174078 : Monthly
Thousand 9163004
[ CITATION Trand \l 1033 ]

Political Intelligence
 Sudan's political crisis has reached its worst since the coup led by

President Omar Hassan al-Bashir in June 1989. The collapsing economy,

ongoing armed conflicts between the regime and armed movements in

the Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, endemic corruption, and the

power struggle within the regime have pushed the country towards a tipping

point.

Coupled with current popular protests over the 2018 austerity budget that

are gathering momentum across Sudan, these factors create the conditions that

will result in one of two scenarios in Sudan: either swift and meaningful change,

or descent into chaos and disintegration. Without meaningful domestic, regional

and international efforts to facilitate a credible, all-inclusive conference that leads

to a fresh political transition, Sudan will be reduced to the latter.  [ CITATION

Ahm18 \l 1033 ]

Armed Forces

Sudan’s military is large and relatively well equipped, and is bolstered by

paramilitary, irregular tribal and former rebel militias. The Sudanese Armed

Forces (SAF) are combat hardened, having fought in various conflicts in recent

times, including the Sudanese Civil War, Darfur Conflict, Sudan-SPLM-N conflict

and the 2012 South Sudan-Sudan border conflict. Nevertheless Sudanese army

soldiers are considered to be largely ineffective, poorly motivated and politically

unreliable. During the 1990s purges eroded the army’s capability and command

authority.

Sudan has acquired vast amounts of military hardware over the last

decade, primarily from the East using oil money. China and Russia are the
country’s biggest suppliers, with Russia providing aircraft like Mi-24 attack

helicopters and Mi-17 transport helicopters and China providing aircraft and

armoured vehicles. Sudan has used such equipment in Darfur in spite of a United

Nations arms embargo. The Air Force in particular continues to receive new

hardware, replacing some of the many aircraft that it has lost to crashes and

rebel action. 

Since the 1990s Chinese, Russian and Iranian companies have helped

Sudan develop its domestic military industry, which manufactures small arms,

artillery and armoured vehicles. The Military Industry Corporation (MIC) was

established in 1993 to manufacture weapons and equipment for the Sudanese

military and is now marketing its products internationally. Products include

recoilless rifles, mortars, rocket launchers and upgraded armoured vehicles.

[ CITATION Ant13 \l 1033 ]

Transportation and Communications

There are different means of transport to or away from Sudan such as

airplanes, buses, trains, and traveling by ship. Also, there are several land

entrances linking Sudan with its neighboring countries. Following are some

information about these modes.

 Sudan Airways is one of the earliest aviation companies in Africa

and the Middle East.

 Traveling by sea and river are considered as convenient means of

transport for their relative cheapness and comfort.

  The reason for the construction of rail ways from Wadi-Halfa in the

north to the interior of Sudan at the turn of the century was to

facilitate the advance of the Anglo-Egyptian army.

 No asphalt motor ways were constructed in Sudan during the

colonial rule. [ CITATION Embnd \l 1033 ]

The telephone system in Sudan is well equipped by regional standards,

but barely adequate and poorly maintained by modern standards. There were

about 75,000 fixed telephone lines in use (serving 6,000 inhabitants) in the

1990s, but the World Factbook estimated that there were 400,000 by 2000. About

40 percent of the fixed lines are in Khartoum. Cellular communications started in

1996, and there were about 3,000 mobile phones by the end of the 1990s and

nearly 20,000 by 2000. In 1997, an agreement between the Sudanese

government and French company Alcatel for telephone net modernization was

signed. A Sudan-South Korean consortium (including Sudatel and Daewoo

companies) is constructing mobile phone facilities for Khartoum, Omdurman, and

Wad Medani. The target is to gain 1.5 million users by 2003.

Other means of communication include radio, television, and computers.

There are 7.55 million radios in use and 2.38 million televisions (141 per 1,000

people). There were 12 AM stations, 1 FM, 1 shortwave, and 3 television stations

in 1997. There was only 1 Internet service provider by 2000, and only 2 of every

1,000 inhabitants owned a personal computer. [ CITATION Natnd1 \l 1033 ]

Science and Technology

In the fields of information processing and media, medicine,

construction, education, and transport, state of the art technology can be found in

elite locations. The petroleum industry makes use of the latest prospecting

technology. In the medical field, there are several private Magnetic Resonance

Imagining (MRI) diagnosis centers in Khartoum and Ibn Khaldoun Hospital

performs laser technology surgery. The Government announced in 2002 that it

was pursuing comprehensive e-governance, meaning that the entire

administrative and planning system would be gradually adapted to the latest

digital technology. In the transport sector, Giad Industrial City assembles the

latest saloon cars from Korea and Renault trucks.

Sudan has a noteworthy community of scientists and technology experts

abroad and although there is communication and cooperation between them and

their compatriots at home, if Sudan can finally arrive

at a modern and stable democracy, it could be one of Africa’s and the Arab

World’s pacesetters in the domain of Science & Technology. [ CITATION Glond \l

1033 ]

Biographical Intelligence

Head of State, Prime Minister, Supreme Commander and Commander-in-

Chief of the Armed Forces: President Field Marshal Omar Hassan Ahmad al

Bashir

Defence Minister: Major General Abdel Rahim Mohamed Hussein

Chief of General Staff: Lieutenant General Emadeddine Mostafa Adawi

Chief of Land Forces Staff: General Ahmed Abdalla al-Naw

Chief of Naval Staff: General Daleel al-Daw Mohamed Fadlalla

Chief of Air Staff: General Ismail Breima Abdel-Samad

[ CITATION Ant13 \l 1033 ]

SWOT Analysis

Strength

Sudan has strengths geared towards resources. Some of the strengths include:

-An abundance of natural resources

-Expanse of fertile land

-Diverse wild life

-Unique location with easy access to the ocean

-Large labor force

Weaknesses

Sudan is left with less oil reserves because of the high density of oil in the south

and less of a population after the split. Some of the other weaknesses of the state

include:

-underdeveloped infrastructure

-high illiteracy rate and underdeveloped human capital

-extremely corrupt government 

-lack of human rights

-Large gaps in wealth (due to corruption)

-Lack of implementation of rule of law (also due to rampant corruption)

-Ongoing social unrest and identity crisis

-Lack of efficient social services

-Poor healthcare

Opportunities
 USA is lifting sanctions against the country, although it still kept Sudan on

the list of countries sponsoring terrorism. Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey,

and the UAE have all reached out to Sudan in one form or another.

In spite of the challenges that Sudan is experiencing in the financial

services sector, the country presents numerous investment opportunities, several

in the financial services sector. Many of these opportunities require funding. This

is where Sudan needs serious development. Some of the opportunities can be

difficult to tap into given the lack of liquidity, and the challenges in the political

sphere are an additional deterrent to investors as well. Still, for the keen investor

there is a wealth of opportunity to unlock.

Threats

 Military tension between Sudan, Egypt, and Ethiopia concerning the use of

the Nile River are continuing.

 In 2012 Israel launched an airstrike against a suspected weapon

production site inside Sudan.

 In late 2013 it was reported that Chad has launched military strikes against

rebel targets in Sudan.

 Insurgencies are continuing in Darfur, the Blue Nile state, and the South

Kordofan state.

Division of Sudan: Implication to the Philippines

Sudan was divided in 2011 because of religious and ethnic differences

aside from the freedom that South Sudan is longing for. Philippines can learn

from what happened to Sudan. Muslims in Mindanao which is located in the

southern part of the country have longed for a separation. They wanted
independence for a self-governance. This is a case in point that the government

should consider thoroughly all the pros and cons of this matter. Thus, it is but

fitting to look closely on Sudan and the consequences that the separation has

brought to each country.