Sudan’s FM says happy with arrival of new U.S. ambassador

August 25, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – Ali Sadiq, acting foreign minister Thursday welcomed the arrival of the U.S. ambassador saying he was happy with the upgrade of  U.S. diplomatic representation in Sudan

Ambassador John Godfrey arrived in Khartoum on Wednesday. He is the first ambassador to Sudan after over 25 years of tumultuous relations due to the support of the former Sudanese regime to terrorism, war crimes and human rights violations.

In a tweet posted from Khartoum, Godrey said he would work to develop relations between the two countries and support Sudanese aspirations for freedom, peace, justice, and a transition to democracy.

On Thursday, he handed over copies of his credentials to the acting foreign minister.

Speaking to SkyNews Arabia TV, Ali Sadiq said expressed his “happiness” for the normalization of relations with the United States.

The appointment of the U.S. ambassador to Sudan is “a major turning point in relations between the two countries,” he further stressed.

For his part, Godfrey said he discussed with the Sudanese acting minister deepening ties between the “U.S. and Sudanese peoples”.

They also discussed the “importance of establishing a new civilian-led government, a key to facilitating greater government-to-government cooperation and greater U.S. and international development assistance,” he added in a tweet posted after the meeting.

Nureldin Satti former Sudanese Ambassador to Washington sacked after the military coup, told Aljazeera TV that the upgrading of U.S. diplomatic representation in Sudan to the ambassadorial level does not mean an endorsement of the military regime in Khartoum.

” We got assurances from Congress and the US administration that any step they take with Sudan is not intended to endorse the coup military regime, but rather is a recognition of the importance of Sudan and the need to communicate with the Sudanese people,” said Satti.

(ST)