CAIRO (AP) – Sudan said on Wednesday it had signed “Abraham’s agreements” with the US, paving the way for the African country to normalize ties with Israel.
A statement from the Sudanese prime minister’s office said Justice Minister Nasredeen Abdulbari signed the agreement on Wednesday with visiting U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
The recent agreements negotiated by the United States between Arab countries and Israel have been a great achievement of the foreign policy of the administration of President Donald Trump. The agreements were named “Abraham’s Agreements” in honor of the biblical patriarch revered by Muslims and Jews.
The signing came just over two months after Trump announced that Sudan would begin normalizing ties with Israel.
Before Sudan, the Trump administration designed diplomatic pacts late last year between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain, the first since Jordan recognized Israel in the 1990s and Egypt in the 1970s. Morocco also established diplomatic ties with Israel.
All the agreements are made with countries that are geographically distant from Israel and have played a minor role, if any, in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The agreements have also contributed to the strong isolation and weakening of the Palestinians by eroding a long Arab consensus that Israel’s recognition should only be given in exchange for concessions in the peace process.
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The United States and Sudan on Wednesday agreed to settle the African country’s debt with the World Bank, widely seen as a key step toward the nation’s economic recovery following the 2019 overthrow of autocrat Omar al-Bashir.
The move came during Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s visit to Khartoum, making him the first senior U.S. official to land there since President Donald Trump’s administration withdrew the African country. from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Mnuchin arrived at Khartoum International Airport, where he was received by Acting Finance Minister Heba Mohammed Ali, and the U.S. head of business in Sudan, Brian Shukan, told the prime minister’s office in a statement.
This is the first visit by a U.S. Treasury chief to Sudan, he assured. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in August he became the first major American diplomat to visit Sudan since 2005, when he was visited by Condoleezza Rice. Pompeo was also the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the African country since al-Bashir’s ouster last year.
Mnuchin’s visit came after a one-day visit to Cairo, where he met with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, a close US ally. The stops are part of a wave of activities during the last days of the Trump administration. Democrat Joe Biden becomes president on January 20th.
The U.S. Treasury Secretary met with Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and is scheduled to meet with other Sudanese leaders, including General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, head of the ruling sovereign council.
The visit took place “at a time when our bilateral relations are making historic leaps towards a better future. We plan to make tangible progress today as our relationships enter a #NewTime, ”Hamdok tweeted.
Mnuchin’s one-day visit focused on the country’s difficult economy and possible US financial aid, including debt reduction, according to the statement. Sudan today has more than $ 60 billion in external debt. Relieving their arrears and accessing foreign loans are widely seen as the gateway to economic recovery.
The Sudanese Ministry of Finance said it had signed a “memorandum of understanding” with the U.S. Treasury Department to facilitate the payment of Sudan’s arrears to the World Bank.
The ministry said the deal would allow the Sudanese government to obtain more than $ 1 billion a year from the World Bank, for the first time in nearly three decades, when Sudan was designated a pariah state. He did not provide further details.
The Justice Department, however, announced last month that the United States would contract a $ 1 billion bridge loan from the World Bank to help clean up Sudan’s arrears with the institution, in addition to $ 1.1 billion. direct and indirect US aid.
Sudan is on a fragile path to democracy after a popular uprising led the military to overthrow al-Bashir in April 2019. The county is now ruled by a joint military and civilian government seeking better ties with Washington and The West.
The government has been struggling with a huge budget deficit and a widespread shortage of essential goods, including fuel, bread and medicine.
Annual inflation rose past 200% in recent months as prices for bread and other commodities rose, according to official data.
Last month, the Trump administration finalized the removal of Sudan from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism. The move was a key incentive for the Khartoum government to normalize relations with Israel.
The two countries, Sudan and Israel, have agreed to have full diplomatic ties, making Sudan the third Arab state – after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain – that went on to normalize relations with Israel late last year. Morocco also established diplomatic ties with Israel.
Sudan’s economy has suffered decades of US sanctions and mismanagement under Al-Bashir, which had ruled the country since a 1989 Islamist-backed military coup.
The designation dates back to the 1990s, when Sudan briefly welcomed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and other wanted militants. Sudan was also believed to have served as a pipeline to Iran to supply weapons to Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.
Mnuchin’s visit came amid growing tensions between the Sudanese transitional government’s military and civilians. These tensions, which have resurfaced in recent weeks, have largely focused on the Sudanese army’s economic assets, over which the civilian-led finance ministry has no control.
John Prendergast, co-founder of the surveillance group The Sentry, urged the U.S. Treasury Secretary to pressure military and security apparatuses to allow “independent oversight” of the companies they control.
“While Secretary Mnuchin is committed to Khartoum’s leadership, it is crucial to have strong support for international standards against money laundering and fiscal transparency, which are essential for Sudan to counter the looting of its national economy.” he said.