INTRODUCTION 1. Sudan acceded to the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) in July 2006, when the President of Sudan, H.E. Omar Hassan Al Bashir committed the country during the African Union (AU) Summit held in Khartoum, Sudan. The Government subsequently established the APRM national secretariat, including the formation of the National Governing Council (NGC), and the four thematic Committees. 2. In 2012, Dr. Ibrahim Dagash was appointed as Focal Point to lead the National APRM Process, while Amb. Dr. Attalah Hamad Bashir was appointed the current Chairman of the National Governing Council (NGC). The Heads of the Sudan Thematic Committees were: (1) Democracy and Political Governance (DPG) – Amb. Khalid Elnur El Tigani; Economic Governance and Management (EGM) – Dr. Mohamed Ali A. Dingil; Corporate Governance (CG) – Mr. Awadelkarim Idriss; and Socio-Economic Development (SED) – Prof. Mirghani Ibnouf. 3. Sudan subsequently hosted the Country Support Mission led by Amb. Ashraf Rashed, member of the APR Panel, from 30 September to 4 October 2012. During this mission, H.E. President Omar Al Bashir signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the “Technical Assessment and the Country Review Visit “ while Amb. Ashraf Rashed signed on behalf of the APR Forum. 4. After the signing of the MOU in October 2012, the APRM National Structures embarked on a countrywide sensitization on the APRM process. Different stakeholders, including the National Assembly, the Council of State, government ministries and agencies, women groups, the youth, opposition parties, CSOs, institutions of higher learning, the Bar Association, and the media were sensitized. 5. Subsequent to the sensitization campaigns, the country started drafting the Country Self-Assessment Report (CSAR), which was delayed due to the process that led to the secession of South Sudan from the Republic of Sudan. 6. Following the APRM guidelines, the national stakeholders validated the CSAR and NPoA. A summary of the issues arising in the CSAR for validation was produced and advertised in both the print and electronic media and also sent to the stakeholders to enhance participation. The NGC held five one-day workshops, one at the national level and four in the regions, each with four thematic area breakaway sessions to ensure adequate feedback. In these workshops, a cross section of stakeholders, including CSOs, the Government and the private sector were involved to ensure broad ownership of the CSAR. 7. The Country Review Mission (CRM) led by the Panel member in charge of Sudan, Amb. Ashraf Rashed visited Sudan from 1st November to 19th November 2016 to carry out the widest possible range of consultations with government officials, political parties, parliamentarians, the academia, trade unions, faith-based organizations, businesses, CSOs, professional bodies and others to learn about perspectives of the different stakeholders on governance in the country and to clarify the issues identified in the Issues Paper that were not taken into account in the preliminary National Programme of Action and to build consensus on how to address them. 8. The CRM held meetings with the NGC, the Focal Point, the APRM Secretariat and the Drafting Committees of the CSAR in order to ascertain the validity of the CSAR and the APRM process in the country. The CRM also met with the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly and Members of Parliament, the Speaker, the Council of State and some committee chairpersons. 9. The CRM further met representatives of government ministries and agencies, including the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defense, Interior, Transport, Roads and Bridges, Animal Resources, Industry, Information, Environment, Oil and Gas, Labour, International Cooperation, the Internal Auditor, Civil Service Bureau, and Judicial Service Commission among others, to exchange views on governance and socio-economic development of Sudan as well as its challenges. Meetings were also held with Civil Society Organizations and the private sector. 10. The CRM divided itself into five sub-teams, and accompanied by the Focal Point and the National Committee 03