Sudan’s Hamdok says he returned to safeguard economic gains

Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said that maintaining the economic gains from the past two years was among the reasons he had decided to return to his post, under a deal with the military nearly a month after he was removed in a coup.

In an interview with Reuters at the Khartoum residence where he had been held under house arrest following the October 25 military takeover, Hamdok said he believed a technocratic government he is expected to appoint would have a chance to improve living standards.

Prominent political parties and Sudan’s powerful protest movement have opposed Hamdok’s decision to sign the agreement with the military on Sunday, with some calling it a betrayal or saying it provided political cover for the coup.

“Among the reasons for my return is preserving the economic gains and the economic opening to the world,” Hamdok said.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Mission in Sudan has stressed the need to protect the constitutional order in the country after welcoming the reinstatement of interim Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.