SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: BBC News - Sudan: Is it being exploited by foreign powers?

10/7/19: BBC News - Sudan: Is it being exploited by foreign powers?, by BBC Reality Check

 BBC Reality Check examines foreign actors interested in influencing Sudan’s future.

 The UAE is Sudan's biggest export destination, buying most of its lucrative money-earner, gold. Second is China, which imports significant amounts of crude oil, although oil

accounts for just 1% of Sudan's economy, compared with just under 20% in 2011 before South Sudan’s independence.

 The drop in oil exports has led Sudan to bolster its agriculture sector, involving granting land leases to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Turkey and China, with similar deals for Jordan, Egypt and the UAE in the pipeline.

The BBC highlight how the UAE and Saudi Arabia are geostrategically competing with Qatar and Turkey in vying to develop Sudan’s Red Sea ports.

Sudan is also a recipient of significant amounts of Chinese infrastructure investment as part of China's Belt and Road Initiative, and has been rewarded by the UAE and Saudi Arabia for its role in Yemen.