Senior U.S. diplomat in Khartoum for bilateral relations discussions

30 October 2017
In Sanctions

Sandra Oudkirk, U.S. Director for Sanctions Policy and Implementation (Xihnua file photo)

October 29, 2017 (KHARTOUM) – The U.S. Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Counter Threat Finance and Sanctions, Sandra Oudkirk, on Saturday has arrived in Khartoum on an official two-day visit.

In a press release extended to Sudan Tribune, the U.S. embassy in Khartoum said Oudkirk is visiting Sudan from 28 to 30 October, saying she would meet with prominent figures.

It pointed out that the purpose of this visit is to discuss the recent lifting of U.S. sanctions on Sudan and continuation of the positive engagement between the Sudan and the United States.

Meanwhile, the visiting U.S. official on Sunday has met with Sudan’s Foreign Ministry Under-Secretary Abdel-Ghani al-Nai’m.

In a press release on Sunday, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson Gharib Allah Khidir quoted Oudkirk as saying her visit comes within the framework of the new approach in the U.S. policy towards Sudan following the lift of the economic embargo.

According to Khidir, the U.S. official expressed her country’s full readiness to broaden horizons of economic and trade cooperation between the two countries to serve and push forward the joint interests.

For his part, al-Nai’m stressed Sudan’s commitment to continue the constructive cooperation with Washington at all bilateral levels.

He expressed readiness to engage positively with the U.S. to develop practical mechanisms which lead to creating peace and development partnership to serve the joint interests.

Also, later Sunday, the visiting official met with Sudan’s Finance Minister Mohamed Osman al-Rikabi, the governor of the Central Bank of Sudan (CBoS) Hazim Abdel-Gadir and the Minister of Agriculture Ibrahim al-Dikhairi.

She said her meetings with the Sudanese officials were fruitful, adding they discussed the post-sanctions era and ways to attract U.S. companies to invest in Sudan.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Administration permanently lifted 20-year-old economic sanctions against Sudan citing positive actions on humanitarian access and counter-terrorism.

However, Washington’s decision left other sanctions in place for the time being, including those against individuals with arrest warrants related to atrocities committed during the conflict in Darfur.

Also, it didn’t remove Sudan’s name from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
The two countries are engaged in a five-track process towards the full normalization of relations.

The process includes the fight against terrorism, Uganda’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), Sudan’s role in the peace process in South Sudan, Sudan’s peace and the humanitarian situation in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile states.