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Abdullah Hamdok
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok said on Saturday that Sudan rejects the link between its removal from the US terror list, which prevents its access to foreign financing for its economy, and the normalization of relations with Israel.
Sources revealed this week that US officials indicated, during talks with a Sudanese delegation, their wish that Khartoum follow the lead of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in establishing diplomatic relations with Israel.
Hamdok emphasized that the issue of normalization with Israel needs a deep discussion among sectors of Sudanese society.
Hamdok explained, in a speech at a local economic conference on Saturday, that such an issue cannot be decided by a single person or entity, indicating the need for a large discussion before any decision is made on it.
Hamdok had confirmed to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during his visit to Khartoum last month that his transitional government was not authorized to decide the question of establishing a relationship with Israel.
Hamdok said on Saturday: “This issue (relations with Israel) needs a deep discussion within the community.”
‘A window of opportunity’
On the other hand, the head of the Sovereignty Transitional Council of Sudan, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, made several statements during the same conference.
Al-Burhan stressed that the Sudanese government is trying to seize what he described as an available opportunity to remove his country’s name from the US terrorism list.
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The proof: there is a “window of opportunity that must be seized to remove Sudan from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism.”
He said the peace achieved by Sudan will allow it to carry out structural and political reforms in all parts of the country, adding that there is “a window of opportunity that should be seized to remove Sudan from the list of states sponsoring terrorism.”
Al-Burhan noted that keeping Sudan’s name on the list hinders its integration into the international community, strengthens its economy and rebuilds its foreign relations in a way that enhances its national interests.
This comes days after Al-Burhan held talks in Abu Dhabi with US and Emirati officials about a peace deal with Israel and the role that Sudan can play in this regard.
List of terrorists
Reports indicate the possibility of concluding a peace agreement between Sudan and Israel, in exchange for a series of Sudanese demands, including an economic aid package, and removing Khartoum from the list of states sponsoring terrorism.
Sudan’s classification as a state sponsor of terrorism dates back to the era of the ousted president, Omar al-Bashir, and this makes it difficult for his transitional government to urgently obtain foreign financing or debt relief.
Rising inflation in Sudan and the devaluation of the currency are among the biggest challenges facing Hamdok’s transitional government, which has ruled in partnership with the military since Bashir was ousted.
Sudan was included on the US terrorism list in 1993 because Washington believed that the Bashir regime supported armed groups.
However, many in Sudan believe that this matter no longer makes sense, after the overthrow of the Al-Bashir government last year, and that Sudan has long cooperated with the United States in the fight against terrorism.
Does Sudan Print With Israel?
The White House and the US State Department declined to comment when asked about the status of the negotiations.
The head of the Sudan Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a surprise meeting in Uganda earlier this year.
Normalization with Israel and the establishment of diplomatic relations is a sensitive matter on the Sudanese street, as Sudan has been in a hostile relationship with Israel during the Bashir era and earlier times.
