UAE president orders $6.8 million worth of aid for Sudan’s flood victims

People walk on a flooded road near the village of Aboud in El Manaqil district, Sudan, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022. (AP)
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Updated 21 August 2022
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UAE president orders $6.8 million worth of aid for Sudan’s flood victims

  • The aid will help alleviate the suffering of those affected by the floods and improve their living conditions
  • It also aims to support Sudan’s efforts to contain the effects of torrential rains that have flooded vast areas

DUBAI: The UAE’s President Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan ordered the provision of AED25 million ($6.8 million) worth of humanitarian aid to those affected and displaced by torrential rains and floods in Sudan on Saturday.
The aid will help alleviate the suffering of those affected by the floods, improve their living conditions, and is an expression of the UAE’s solidarity with the people of Sudan, Emirates News Agency reported.
It also aims to support Sudan’s efforts to contain the effects of torrential rains that have flooded vast areas across the country, WAM said.
The gesture highlights the deep-rooted relations that the two countries share, and is in line with the UAE’s policy to help underprivileged communities around the world through relief and humanitarian programmes.
At least 77 people have died during torrential rains and flash floods in Sudan and thousands of homes have been destroyed in South Darfur and North Kordofan, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Friday.


Turkiye to forge on with tight economic policy, some fine-tuning, VP Yilmaz says

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Turkiye to forge on with tight economic policy, some fine-tuning, VP Yilmaz says

ISTANBUL: Turkiye is committed to carrying on its tight economic policies ​in order to cool inflation, and though it may fine-tune the program it will not change course, Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said in comments embargoed to Friday.
“There is no plan to pause our program,” Yilmaz said at a briefing with reporters in Istanbul on Thursday. “All programs are dynamic, and adjustments can always be made.”
Yilmaz, who plays a key role overseeing economic policy at the presidency, said any such adjustments would aim to support production, investment and ‌exports while moderating consumption.
Turkiye ‌has pursued tight monetary and fiscal policies ‌for more ⁠than ​two years ‌in order to reduce price pressure, leading to high financing and borrowing costs that have weighed on businesses and households. Inflation has eased slowly but steadily over the last year but remains elevated at 31 percent annually.
Last month, Is Bank CEO Hakan Aran warned that focusing solely on one target — inflation — could create side effects, suggesting a “pause and restart” might be healthy once the program achieves certain targets.
Yılmaz said the ⁠government expects improvements in inflation in the first quarter, which should reflect to market expectations for year-end ‌inflation around 23 percent. The government projects inflation to dip ‍as far as 16 percent by year end, ‍within a 13-19 percent range, and falling to 9 percent in 2027. The central ‍bank forecasts inflation between 13-19 percent by end-2026.
Yilmaz noted inflation fell by nearly 45 points despite pressure from elevated food prices, hit by agricultural frost and drought.
The agricultural sector is expected to support growth and help ease price rises this year, which could ​help achieve official inflation targets, he said.
Yilmaz said the government wants to avoid a rapid drop in inflation that could hurt economic ⁠growth, jobs and social stability.
Turkiye’s economic program was established in 2023 after years of unorthodox easy money that aimed to stoke growth but that sent inflation soaring and the lira plunging. The program aims to dislodge high inflation expectations while boosting production and exports, in order to address long-standing current account deficits.
The central bank, having raised interest rates as high as 50 percent in 2024, eased policy through most of last year, bringing the key rate down to 38 percent.
Asked whether lower rates could trigger an exit from the lira currency, Yilmaz said: “What matters is real interest rates. Lowering rates as inflation falls does not affect real rates, so we do ‌not expect such an impact.”
He added that the government will strengthen mechanisms that selectively support companies while improving overall financial conditions.