Abu Dhabi extending a helping hand to Khartoum

The coronavirus pandemic has had its heavy toll on the world economy. Nevertheless, the pandemic has not held the United Arab Emirates back from offering food and medical supplies to countries around the world, including Sudan.
Rescue
Even before
the coronavirus outbreak, Sudan suffered major economic and political problems,
following the popular uprising that brought down the regime of longtime
president Omar Hassan al-Bashir in April 2019.
The
coronavirus is compounding the problems of this Arab country. Sudan has so far
reported 4,521 coronavirus infections and 233 deaths. About 816 people
recovered from the disease, the Sudanese Ministry of Health said on May 29.
The UAE was
quick to offer support to Sudan. It sent a shipment containing 11 tons of
medical supplies to the country. The supplies will help over 11,000 Sudanese
healthcare workers carry out their duties and get over this crisis.
The Ambassador
of the UAE to Sudan, Hamad Mohammed Humaid al-Junaibi, said the supplies
bespeak UAE support to Sudan in the face of the pandemic.
"We want to back
those standing on the frontline of Sudan's fight against the coronavirus,"
al-Junaibi said.
The UAE sent the
supplies to Sudan a few days after the Abu Dhabi Development Fund sent 75
million dirhams in medical supplies to Sudan.
It said in a
statement on May 5 that it had already dispatched 135 tons of medical supplies
to Sudan.
Other shipments will
be sent to the country in the coming days, the fund said.
Aid package
The aforementioned
supplies are part of an aid package declared by Abu Dhabi in April 2019.
It said it would give
Sudan a total of $1.5 billion in aid to prop up the economy of the Arab
country.
This aid is not new
to relations between the two countries. In August 2019, the Emirates Red
Crescent sent 100 tons of humanitarian aid to support the victims of flash
floods that happened in the country.
Qatari
fears
The regime of
longstanding Sudanese president Omar Hassan al-Bashir was instrumental in the
implementation of Qatar's agenda in Sudan.
This was why Qatar
opposed the protests that erupted in Sudan and led to the downfall of
al-Bashir's regime.
In January 2019, Doha
paid $1 billion to al-Bashir to help him overcome the economic crisis in his
country.
This was probably why
Sudan's transitional military council took a number of measures, following
al-Bashir's ousting, including the closure of the office of the Qatari news
channel, al-Jazeera.
Now, Qatar grits its
teeth in anger as it views the ongoing rapprochement between Sudan and the UAE.