| Summary/Abstract |
ON 3 NOVEMBER 2015, UNDER THE WATCHFUL EYES of Saudi King Salman and Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir, their respective finance ministers, Ibrahim Al-Assaf and Badredin Mahmoud, signed four agreements that committed the kingdom to funding three big dam projects in Sudan, as well as the cultivation and irrigation of more than a million acres near already-constructed dams on Sudanese territory.1 These framework accords were expanded upon when, in February 2016, Al-Assaf travelled to Khartoum to meet Mutaz Musa, Minister of Water Resources and Electricity and head of Sudan's hugely powerful Dam Implementation Unit. Ignoring the howls of anti-dam protesters assaulted by security forces, Al-Assaf committed US$5 billion in dam project finance to Sudan, which has struggled to revive economic growth following the secession of South Sudan in 2011 and the loss of three-quarters of its oil production. The multi-billion dollar promises are a quid pro quo for the participation of the Sudanese Armed Forces since March 2015 in the devastating war waged in Yemen against Houthi insurgents by King Salman and his 30-year-old Deputy Crown Prince, Mohammad.
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