QATAR: Emir hosts Bashir, backs ‘unity’ in restive Sudan

The ruler of Qatar offered support for Sudan’s “unity and stability” on Wednesday at a meeting with President Omar al-Bashir on his first foreign visit in more than a month of protests against him, a statement said. The tiny but wealthy Gulf state vies with regional rivals for influence in Sudan, strategic in part for […]

The ruler of Qatar offered support for Sudan’s “unity and stability” on Wednesday at a meeting with President Omar al-Bashir on his first foreign visit in more than a month of protests against him, a statement said.

The tiny but wealthy Gulf state vies with regional rivals for influence in Sudan, strategic in part for its access to the Red Sea, and last year agreed a $4 billion deal to jointly develop Suakin port. But no new financial assistance was announced on Wednesday.

Bashir arrived in Qatar on Tuesday as protests raged at home. Anger at inflation and shortages has coalesced into calls for an end to his 30-year rule.

“President Bashir briefed the Emir on the latest updates regarding the situation and challenges facing the country,” said a statement from the court of Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.