Sudan agreed on Friday to be the last Arab nation to recognize Israel in a diplomatic coup announced by President Donald Trump days before the US election.
The UAE and Bahrain signed an agreement at the White House last month to normalize relations with Israel, but Sudan has additional symbolism as an Arab nation that has been at war with Israel.
Trump announced the agreement by the civilian-backed government of Sudan moments after he formally moved to end the nation’s designation of a state sponsor of terrorism, which was one of Khartoum’s main goals.
The journalists were escorted to the Oval Office where Trump was speaking by phone with Sudan’s leadership and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a close ally of the Republican president.
“This really changes the region. It changes the lives of our peoples for the better and allows us to focus on the task of building our nations, building our future, ”Netanyahu was heard telling Trump.
Trump said more Arab states are also seeking to recognize Israel, including regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s two holiest cities.
“We have at least five more who want to get in and we will have many more soon,” Trump said to a room full of attendees, some of them wearing masks despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
Until last month, the only Arab nations that recognized Israel were Jordan and Egypt, neighbors of the Jewish state that had made peace after the mediation of the United States.
– Economic advantage for Sudan –
Both the United States and Israel pledged to boost trade with Sudan, an impoverished and conflict-ravaged nation that had faced years of criticism for its violent internal campaigns until the fall of dictator Omar al-Bashir last year.
In a trilogue statement, Sudan and Israel said the delegations would meet “in the coming weeks to negotiate cooperation agreements,” including on agriculture, aviation and migration issues.
“The leaders agreed to normalize relations between Sudan and Israel and to end the state of belligerence between their nations,” he said, without setting a date.
As part of the deal to get off the terrorism blacklist, the White House said that Sudan’s transitional government had deposited $ 335 million to compensate survivors and family members of the attacks on the United States that took place when the regime of Bashir welcomed Al-Qaeda.
Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdulla Hamdok thanked Trump for the terror designation without mentioning Israel’s recognition, a step he had previously said he was not authorized to take.
“This decision will open the door wide for Sudan’s well-deserved return to the international community and the international banking and financial sector, as well as regional and international investment,” Hamdok’s office said in a statement that did not mention the ties. with Israel.
But Sudanese television later said that Sudan had agreed to end the state of war with Israel and normalize ties.
Also on the phone call was Sudan’s top general, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who met with Netanyahu earlier this year in Uganda.
– Historic step –
Trump had announced his plan to remove Sudan from the list on Monday via Twitter. But in the days before it formally took the move, Israel sent a delegation to Khartoum to discuss normalization.
Trump, who is trailing in polls ahead of the Nov. 3 vote, has used his influence over Sudan to push for recognition of Israel.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed hope Wednesday that Sudan would “quickly” recognize the Jewish state, one of the main causes of Trump’s evangelical Christian base.
Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates had long enjoyed quiet relations with Israel, but a move by Sudan is especially significant in light of the nation’s history.
Sudan played a small role in the Arab-Israeli wars and, after Israel’s decisive victory in 1967, Khartoum was where the Arab League issued its famous “three no’s”: no peace, no recognition and no negotiations with Israel.
Sudan has been trying for years to remove the designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, severely hampering investment as few foreign companies want to risk the wrath of US prosecutions.
With Trump’s formal measure, Congress has 45 days in which it can pass a resolution to oppose the delisting.
Congress is not expected to block delisting, but it must also pass legislation to grant Sudan immunity from new claims.
Until then, the $ 335 million will be held in an escrow account.
The money includes compensation to survivors and relatives of those killed in the twin Al-Qaeda attacks on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.
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