Sudan govt scraps $6bn Red Sea port deal with UAE

Sudan has cancelled a $6 billion deal with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to develop a Red Sea port, in an apparent protest against Abu Dhabi’s alleged support for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary group engaged in the country’s ongoing bloody conflict.
Sudan’s Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim said on Sunday (3 November) his country had cancelled a memorandum of understanding with the UAE to develop the Abu Amama port, accusing Abu Dhabi of supporting the RSF that has been battling the government forces. Ibrahim also asserted that Khartoum’s move was designed to protect the country’s sovereignty, adding that Sudan would not “cede the UAE one single centimetre of its Red Sea coast.” The deal, signed in December 2022, would have seen Abu Dhabi Ports and a Sudanese-owned Invictus Investment company jointly build and operate the Abu Amama port.
The decision comes amid growing allegations that the UAE has been providing backing, including weapons flown into neighboring nations and trucked across the border, to the RSF, which has been embroiled in a conflict with Sudan’s military since 15 April 2023. An estimated 15-60,000 people have been killed and eight million displaced in the fighting to date, with no end in sight. Foreign powers have weighed in on both sides of the conflict, with some evidence of Russian and Iranian support for the Sudanese armed forces. Abu Dhabi has denied providing any support for the RSF, describing its intervention as a humanitarian aid operation.