The removal of Sudan from the United States' list of state sponsors of terrorism is a significant milestone for the country's transition and debt relief, the European Union's diplomatic arm said on Monday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th December, 2020) The removal of Sudan from the United States' list of state sponsors of terrorism is a significant milestone for the country's transition and debt relief, the European Union's diplomatic arm said on Monday.
Earlier in the day, the US embassy in Khartoum said that Washington had finalized the removal of Sudan from the list effective December 14.
"The finalisation of the removal of Sudan from the US State Sponsors of Terrorism list represents a significant milestone for Sudan's ongoing political and economic transition. It will provide a positive momentum for the country's economic recovery and move it closer to an eventual debt relief," the EU's External Actions Service said in a statement hours after the news broke.
The statement went on to say that the EU remained committed to supporting Sudan's reform efforts as well as aspirations for debt relief.
Sudan has been undergoing significant transition across society since overthrowing the longtime strongman leader Omar al-Bashir in April 2019.
In late October, US President Donald Trump formally notified the Congress that his administration would take Sudan off its list of terror sponsors after Khartoum paid $335 million to US terrorism victims and their families. The removal is believed to be a part of the US ongoing policy to normalize ties between Israel and the Arab world. In September, Khartoum and Washington reached a deal on the matter, although none of the official parties confirmed the link between Sudan's de-blacklisting and the normalization of relations with Israel.
The African nation was blacklisted back in 1993 for sheltering Osama bin Laden for nearly five years at a time when al-Qaeda terrorist group (banned in Russia) leader was involved in attacks on targets in the United States.
Four year later, Washington imposed sanctions against Khartoum that limited the ability of Sudanese banks to work with foreign partners.
A breakthrough in relations between the US and Sudan was achieved in August 2019, when new Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok announced the start of negotiations with Washington on removing Khartoum from the blacklist. The improvement of ties occurred after Sudan established the Sovereign Council, officially dissolving the Transitional Military Council, which came to power after former President Omar Bashir was overthrown in April.
In March 2020, the Central Bank of Sudan said that the US had briefed it on lifting all of the economic restrictions except for a few Darfur-related sanctions.
In late October, Sudan and Israel reached an agreement to establish full diplomatic relations between the two nations.