Sudan’s Hamdok, U.S. Mandelker discuss combating terrorism financing
September 26, 2019 (KHARTOUM/WASHINGTON) – The Sudanese Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok on Wednesday discussed with the U.S. Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Sigal Mandelker ways for cooperation and coordination in fighting terrorism financing.
The newly installed Sudanese transitional government is lobbying Washington for it to be removed from the list of states that sponsor terrorism to qualify for debt relief & loans from international financial institutions.
According to the official Sudanese News Agency (SUNA), the meeting discussed ways of cooperation and coordination between the Office of Undersecretary and its counterpart agencies in the Sudan.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Treasury Department told Sudan Tribune that the meeting discussed anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF).
“Treasury looks forward to working with Sudan on AML/CFT and will also work with Sudan on accountability for human rights abuses and corruption”.
He underlined that Mandelker did not make any “promise” relating to removing Sudan from the State Sponsor of Terrorism (SST) list as was reported by Sudan official news agency.
“The issue of delisting Sudan as an SST is a State Department authority,” he emphasized.
The official news agency reported that the meeting agreed to support Sudan to achieve structural reform of the banking sector and capacity-building programmes in the fight against terrorist financing.
On August 8, US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs David Hill said that Washington “is contingent on removing Sudan from its list of state sponsors of terrorism by becoming a civilian government and responding to US counterterrorism concerns.”
U.S. Under Secretary for Political Affairs David Hale told a press conference in Khartoum on 7 August after a meeting with Sudanese officials that his government was not yet ready to remove Sudan from the terror list.
“There’s a number of things we’re looking forward to engaging with a civilian-led government,” he said.
These included human rights, religious freedom and counter-terrorism efforts, as well as “promoting internal peace, political stability and economic recovery in Sudan,” added the visiting official.
(ST)