This week, 65,000 metric tons of wheat purchased through a $20 million grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to the World Food Programme (WFP) arrived in Sudan, fulfilling a pledge made in November. This donation will help alleviate a significant shortage of affordable wheat as the Sudanese people face growing needs because of a challenging economy, historic floods earlier this year, and the pandemic of COVID-19.

The United States recognizes the essential leadership role of Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok in delivering this important assistance to the people of Sudan. Sudan’s civilian-led Transitional Government will use the wheat to help reduce shortages of low-cost flour and bread in the greater Khartoum area.

This agreement is part of the United States’ robust assistance in Sudan, which totaled nearly $437 million in humanitarian assistance in Fiscal Year (FY) 2020, including more than $32 million to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, and more than $50 million in development funding in FY 2019.

This announcement comes as Sudan is entering a promising new era for its people. Along with joining the Abraham Accords and moving toward the normalization of diplomatic relations with Israel, the Sudanese Transitional Government has reformed laws and state institutions to represent and respond better to the Sudanese people, and engaged in difficult negotiations with armed groups to sign a peace agreement in October. These efforts demonstrate the Transitional Government’s commitment to ending combating terrorism and decades of violence and corruption in Sudan.

The United States looks forward to a new era of cooperation with the Transitional Government, civil society, and the private sector in Sudan to bring stability and prosperity to the Sudanese people.