Hamdok says expecting Sudan’s delisting from terror list
September 3, 2019 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok on Tuesday announced they had reached substantial understandings with the U.S. administration on removing Sudan from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.”
“There have been great understandings with the U.S. administration about removing Sudan from the list of state sponsors of terrorism and we have made significant progress,” he told a joint news conference with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.
“We are expecting a big breakthrough that will lead to removing Sudan from the terror list,” he stressed before to add. “It is a convenient circumstance.”
On October 6, 2017, the Trump administration lifted economic sanctions and a trade embargo imposed on Sudan since 1997.
But Washington still puts Sudan on the terror list since 1993. However, the purpose of the designation moved from sanctions against harbouring al Qaeda leaders to force Khartoum to open humanitarian access to civilians in war-affected civilians, to ensure freedoms and human rights.
Nonetheless, Washington says they intend to keep the sanctions on Sudan but will encourage other nations to support it.
on 27 August 2019, a U.S. senior official underscored that Sudan’s removal from the blacklist alone, will not be enough pointing to the resolutions the U.S. Congress passed in the past on Darfur stressing they need to be reviewed and amended because they impose restrictions on the U.S. administration.
The State Department official was referring to the ’Darfur Peace and Accountability Act of 2006 and the Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act of 2007.
“I discussed with the German foreign minister the challenges the government is going to face in Sudan during the transitional period,” Hamdok said.
The Sudanese prime minister is expected to hold talks in New York later this month while attending the UN General Assembly.
For his part, Maas said that “his country will discuss the issue of removing Sudan from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly.
“We will call on everyone to support the Sudanese government to achieve economic development, and we formed a group of friends of Sudan to support it in the transitional period,” he added.
“It is time to resume economic cooperation with the civilian government in Sudan,” he stressed.
The German diplomat further agreed with Hamdok that Sudan’s delisting from the terror list is a prerequisite for economic development in the country.
He went to say “We are discussing how we can provide financial support for Sudan, and we will offer cooperation in the field of development to the German parliament.”
He stressed that “his country will begin to support Sudan, with 5 million euro, to rise to 15 million euro a year.”
Also, Maas said he met with the head of the transitional Sovereign Council Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan and stressed the importance of transferring power to a civilian government.
(ST)