Qatar’s regime draws on investment in Sudan for financing terrorism

Noura Bendary

Qatar’s regime has been seeking to penetrate Africa to finance its terrorist activities through the injection of investment in Sudan, where ousted president Omar al-Bashir paved the way for Doha to invade the Sudanese investment scene.

In May 2017, the CEO of Qatar’s Hassad Company, a subsidiary of Qatar Investment Authority, agreed with former Sudanese finance minister on providing the company with all the requirements for its agricultural projects in Sudan.

Since the Arab boycott of Qatar in June 2017, Hassad Company has been working on making up for Qatar’s losses in the wake of the boycott. In June 2018, Hassad Company acquired thousands of feddans (acres) in a deal worth $500 million, Sudanese media said at that time.

The Qatari company also revealed plans to increase its investments in Sudan to $3 billion, up from $1 billion over 3 years via joint ventures with the Sudanese authorities.

In August 2018, Hassad Company said it was considering taking over fodder firms in Sudan. Hassad Company, which is affiliated with Qatar Investment Authority, launched in 2008.

Qatar’s investments in Sudan total $1.5 billion in a variety of sectors, including tourism real estate and agriculture, according to Sudanese official data.

In conclusion, the Doha regime aims at boosting its political and economic influence in Sudan. Qatar is using investment as a means to support the Muslim Brotherhood, which has taken a blow since the ousting of Omar al-Bashir, who paved the way for Doha to dominate investments in Sudan.

Qatar is trying to save the Brotherhood from its dilemma in a bit to remerge to the political scene in Sudan.