Sharm El-Sheikh - (dpa) - Sudanese Finance Minister Jibril Ibrahim said that his country will start implementing plans to privatize companies owned by the army, and that it is in talks with Middle Eastern countries to help finance the underfunded Sudanese economy, according to Bloomberg News.

The minister added in an interview that the Sudanese government is still on its way to closing many of the 650 state-owned companies and privatizing others, despite the military coup that took place last October, which derailed the democratic transition.

And Ibrahim continued on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the Islamic Development Bank in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, that all commercial companies will be offered for public subscription, except for those that produce weapons, and this will happen soon.

The minister's remarks come as Sudanese military leaders prepare to hold direct talks with civilian politicians and activists next week, for the first time since last October.

The government is seeking to obtain sources of financing after the issuance of decisions by the United States, the European Union and the World Bank to suspend billions of dollars in aid.

The minister referred to talks that Khartoum is holding with Gulf countries, such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar. He hoped that these talks would bear fruit, saying that it was difficult to talk about specific amounts.