THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) has agreed for the first time in 17 years to lay down a formula for Sudan to repay its $20bn debts, says Central Bank governor Sabir al-Hassan. Sudanese Finance Minister Abdel Rahim Mahmoud Hamdi had asked IMF managing director Horst Koehler to speed up implementation of the plan. Hassan also called for Sudan to recover its rights under the Lome trade and aid agreement between the European Union and developing countries, saying they had been frozen “for political reasons”. – AFP