Finance Minister Marial Dongrin. (Photo: MoF&P).

JUBA, (Eye Radio) – The Minister of Finance and Planning Hon. Dr. Marial Dongrin and Bank of South Sudan Governor John Ohisa Damian have departed for the United States to participate in the 2025 World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings already underway.

Held in Washington DC, the meetings bring together central bankers, ministers of finance and development, private sector executives among others, to discuss the state of the global economy and issues of international concern.

The global financial stakeholders gather every year the unique forum to discuss factors such as the growth outlook, financial stability, and poverty reduction.

But this year’s meetings which kicked off on April 21, come at a precarious moment for multilateral cooperation, with aid budgets shrinking, global debt rising, and trade uncertainty rattling economies.

Dr. Dongrin is accompanied by the Governor of Bank of South Sudan, Hon. Johnny Ohisa and representatives drawn from the two institutions.

The delegation also seeks to engage in discussions with Bretton Woods institutions and U.S. government representatives to explore avenues for enhancing economic cooperation between South Sudan and the United States.

“I will be leading delegation to Washington to attend the World Bank/IMF Spring meeting. And as customary, we will also engage with the US government officials working on modalities on how to advance economic cooperation between our two countries,” Dongrin said, speaking briefly to the media at Juba airport.

The U.S. government granted special visas to the delegation, despite a blanket visa suspension affecting all South Sudanese passport holders and the halting of new arrivals to the U.S. over diplomatic row between the two countries related to a deportation incident.