Khartoum: Sudan’s President Omar Al Bashir called on Saturday for a battle against inflation as part of efforts to reform the country’s indebted, cash-starved and sanctions-hit economy.
“We must fight high market prices which affect the economy and the people,” he said in a speech opening a two-day forum of economic experts, politicians, business leaders and others seeking solutions to the economic troubles.
The government-organised gathering follows a similar forum last year, and critics predicted little would be accomplished.
“The economic situation is getting worse,” Khalid Tijani, chief editor of the weekly economic newspaper Elaff, told AFP ahead of the conference.
Khartoum lost billions of dollars in export earnings when South Sudan became independent in 2011, taking with it most of Sudan’s oil production.
Since then the government has struggled with a shortage of hard currency and revenue as the pound sank in value on the widely used black market and inflation soared.
The local currency has lost almost 50 per cent of its value on the black market over the past two years.
Inflation officially reached 40 per cent last month.
