Sudan to Issue New Currency After Split With South

Posted July 12th, 2011 at 9:50 am (UTC-5)
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Sudan’s president says the country will issue a new currency following its split with South Sudan last week.

President Omar al-Bashir announced the plan during an address to the National Assembly in Khartoum on Tuesday.

South Sudan declared its independence on Saturday and on Monday announced plans to introduce its own currency.

The new South Sudan pound is expected to arrive by cargo plane from Britain on Wednesday and go into circulation next Monday.

It was not immediately clear when Sudan would issue its new currency.

Sudan and South Sudan have unresolved disputes over who will control the oil-rich Abyei region and how to share oil revenue.

More than 75 percent of Sudan’s oil revenue came from fields located in what is now South Sudan. However, South Sudan can only export its oil through pipelines that run north through Sudan.