Sudan enters dangerous regional waters

Subject

Sudan's foreign relations.

Significance

As aftershocks from the Gulf crisis ripple across the Horn of Africa, Sudan appears to be playing a dangerous strategic game. Recent months have seen Sudan seek deals with Turkey and Qatar, as well as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), even as these extra-regional powers are locked in a fractious rivalry that is playing out in Africa as a contest for influence.

Impacts

• Even with external support, Sudan’s economic crisis is unlikely to ease quickly.
• Economic tensions may explode into a new wave of popular anti-government protests.
• Mismanagement and corruption will remain serious obstacles to wider investment and business in Sudan.