Donors Pledge $3.5bn For Eastern Sudan

Donors Pledge $3.5bn For Eastern Sudan

More than $3.5bn has been pledged to eastern Sudan by donors and investors.

At a specially-arranged conference in Kuwait , several Arab countries made pledges, intended to make a huge difference to the region.

The crises in Southern Sudan and the western region of Darfur receive much more attention but eastern Sudan , which has also fought a war against Khartoum , is seriously underdeveloped.

The conference was conceived to revitalise the region, which has been all but forgotten.

It is not immediately clear if the total includes the more than $1.5bn the Sudanese government has said it will contribute.

Among the donors, Kuwait announced grants of $500m .

However there have been complaints that previous financial pledges have not always been respected.

The south will vote on possible independence in January, so Arab states may be looking to shore up their influence in the north.

BBC/Yinka