Sudan welcomes return of U.S. university programmes

December 3, 2016 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese foreign ministry Friday has welcomed the return of American scholarships to Sudan and the visit of Sudanese university presidents to the United States after twenty years of suspension.

On 30 November U.S. Special Envoy Donald Booth announced the return of several exchange programmes to Sudan including American Fulbright Scholars and American Fulbright Specialists programmes to Sudan.

He also announced that a delegation of eleven Sudanese university vice chancellors led by Undersecretary of the ministry of higher education will visit the United States.

Sudan’s Foreign Ministry Under-Secretary Abdel-Ghani al-Na’im welcomed the move saying it would positively impact bilateral relations.

“This is a big and important step in the course of relations between the two countries,” al-Na’im said, pointing that educational and cultural relations participate actively to strengthen understanding and communication between the two peoples.

The Sudanese official further said that this “cultural diplomacy” has a positive role in “the development of relations between the two countries so as to achieve bilateral interests, cooperation on issues of mutual interest and regional and international issues”.

In November 1997, Washington imposed economic sanctions on Sudan over its alleged support to terrorist groups. However; last September U.S. Department of States praised Sudan’s counterterrorism cooperation with the United States but excluded the removal of sanctions.

(ST)