Qatari agency working to control Sudanese youth

Shaimaa Hefzi

The Qatari institution, Silatech, has launched a new initiative for the economic empowerment of Sudanese youth.

The initiative, which kicked off on February 4, will open communication channels with Sudanese banks.

Governor of the Central Bank of Sudan, Badreddine Abdurrahman, held talks with his Qatari counterpart to discuss means of easing banking relations between Sudan and Qatar.

Qatari banks, the Qatari official said, are open to cooperation with their peers in Sudan.

Silatech’s initiative will help Sudanese youth get funding from the banks. The initiative will seek to offer funding to more than 2 million youth over the coming three years under supervision from the Central Bank of Sudan.

Abdurrahman praised cooperation between the institution and the Social Development Bank in Sudan. During his visit to Qatar, the Sudanese official also met the chief executive officer of Silatech to discuss cooperation, especially in financing for minor funding agencies in Sudan.

He called on the Qatari institution to increase support to projects launched by Sudanese youth.

Silatech is directly linked with the ruling family in Qatar. The institution was founded by the mother of the emir of the tiny Gulf state, Sheikha Moza al-Mesned in 2008.

The institution operates in Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Syria, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Libya, Algeria and other countries.

It says on its website that it works on offering comprehensive and innovative solutions in the fields of employment for youth. The institution sometimes works on making the fund necessary for the implementation of some projects available.

The board of trustees of the institution includes Mohamed bin Abdurrahman bin Jassim al-Thani, the deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Qatar. It also contains Hussa Sultan al-Jabir, the minister of communications and information technology until January 2016.