U.S. Shutdown : Congressional delegation suspends visit to Sudan

January 20, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – The United States government shutdown has caused a postponement of a U.S. Congressional delegation visit to Khartoum which was scheduled for Sunday, said Sudanese parliament spokesperson

The U.S. federal government shutdowns occur when Congress can’t pass some kind of appropriations bill before a spending deadline and as a result, many “nonessential” government activities suddenly cease.

In a statement on Saturday, Sudan’s National Assembly spokesperson Abdel-Magid Haroun said the visit of the Congressional delegation has been postponed to a later date.

He said the delay was caused by the U.S. government shutdown.

On Wednesday, parliament speaker Ibrahim Ahmed Omer said a delegation from the U.S Congress would arrive in Khartoum on Sunday on a three-day official visit at the invitation of Sudan’s National Legislature.

He added the delegation would meet with Prime Minister Bakri Hassan Salih, ministers of the economic sector, speaker of the National Assembly, opposition parties and the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS).

In October last year, U.S. President Donald Trump decided to revoke economic sanctions on Sudan in line with a five-track framework agreement for a humanitarian cessation of hostilities in Sudan and Khartoum cooperation with Washington to fight terrorism and address regional conflicts.

However, Washington 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.

Washington says the lift of other sanctions depends on the improvements of human rights, religious freedoms and democratic reforms.

U.S. officials also believe that the process provides an opportunity to encourage Khartoum to reach a negotiated settlement for the armed conflicts in the country.

(ST)