WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Deputy Administrator Donald Steinberg swore in Dr. Barry K. Primm as the new Mission Director for Sudan. He is the first Mission Director to lead USAID's assistance to Sudan following the secession of South Sudan in July, when the former Sudan field office in Juba was designated the new USAID Mission in South Sudan.

As Mission Director, Primm will support humanitarian assistance to Sudanese affected by conflict in areas such as Darfur, Southern Kordofan, and Blue Nile, and efforts to promote peace, reconciliation, and improved livelihoods in Sudan.

Primm joins the USAID Mission in Khartoum after serving as Director of USAID/Pakistan's Agriculture Office since January 2010. He served twice previously in Pakistan, as Deputy Mission Director for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in 2009-2010, and as Economic, Marketing, and Policy Analysis Division Chief from 1982 to 1987.

Primm began his career with USAID as an International Development Intern focused on agricultural economics for USAID/Indonesia from 1977 to 1982. He has received multiple USAID performance awards and meritorious honor awards over his long career, as well as a superior honor award in 2002.

A native of Olathe, Kansas, Primm has a Bachelor's degree in business and economics from Graceland University, as well as a Master of Science in agricultural economics and a Ph.D. in regional economics, both from Kansas State University. He is fluent in Bahasa Indonesian.

During his remarks at the ceremony, Primm stated, "Since the early 1980s, the U.S. Government through USAID has stood by the Sudanese people in facing many challenges. USAID will continue to do so in the future, particularly in helping the Sudanese people deal with the challenges resulting from the separation of South Sudan, and in continuing to provide emergency assistance to those most in need."

A Senior Foreign Service Officer, Dr. Primm has served with USAID for 34 years in 10 overseas posts.