(4 minutes read)
· The U.S. Embassy in Khartoum yesterday (Monday) has formally taken Sudan off the list of state sponsors of terrorism, enabling the North African country’s battered economy to avail international loans
· Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said that his country has joined the ranks of peaceful countries and would take all steps for ensuring peace and harmony in the country
· Sudan is on a fragile economic transition path
· Ouster of former autocratic President Omar al-Bashir in April 2019 was a turning point
The U.S. Embassy in Khartoum yesterday (Monday) has formally taken Sudan off the list of state sponsors of terrorism, enabling the North African country’s battered economy to avail international loans. The US Embassy has announced it through a post in the Facebook.
The Facebook post indicated that the new status would enable Sudan with numerous opportunities for development. Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said that his country has joined the ranks of peaceful countries and would take all steps for ensuring peace and harmony in the country. Sudan invited the wrath of the US when that country had briefly hosted al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and other wanted militants.
Many feel that the Sudan could achieve the new status only after normalizing its relationship with Israel. Though there are six
countries which have recognized Israel including Egypt, Morocco and Jordan, Sudan’s move had created flutters in regimes, which have ideological aversion to Israel. How this would play out in the future is something people have to wait and see. Recently, the US has acted as an interlocutor for normalizing Israel’s ties with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Morocco also established diplomatic ties with Israel, some time ago.
Sudan is on a fragile economic transition path. Ouster of former autocratic President Omar al-Bashir in April 2019 was a turning point. In October, Trump announced that he would remove Sudan from the list if it pays its pledge to pay US$335 million to American terror victims and their families. Sudan has agreed to pay that compensation for victims of the 1998 bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Sudan languished under the US sanctions for the last 27 years. According to the October agreement, Trump was to sign an order removing Sudan from the terrorism list.
