Arab world welcomes lifting of Sudan sanctions by the US
MOVE COMES AFTER SECRET MEETINGS AND KHARTOUM’S COOPERATION IN FIGHTING DAESH
The Arab League has welcomed a US decision to lift economic sanctions on Sudan, which have been in place for 20 years. In a press release is pointed out that it has continuously been opposed to the sanctions and has repeatedly called for them to be lifted.
In the UAE, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces congratulated Sudanese president Omar Al Bashir on the development.
In a telephone call made Saturday night with president Al Bashir, Shaikh Mohammad said this positive step was in appreciation of Khartoum’s role in many regional issues.
The Obama administration’s preliminary decision to ease sanctions on Sudan came with the full approval of the incoming Trump administration and after months of secret meetings, Sudan’s foreign minister said on Saturday.
The United States said on Friday it would lift a 20-yearold trade embargo against Sudan, unfreeze assets and remove financial sanctions as a response to Khartoum’s cooperation in fighting Daesh and other groups.
The move will be delayed by 180 days to see whether Sudan acts further to improve its human rights record and resolve political and military conflicts, including in Darfur.
This puts the final decision in the hands of President-elect Donald Trump and his secretary of state, who is likely to be Rex Tillerson, a former oil executive.
Secret meetings
Addressing a news conference, Sudan Foreign Minister Ebrahim Ghandour said the potential sanctions relief are the result of six months of secret meetings held in Khartoum on issues ranging from combating the Lord’s Resistance Army to peace in South Sudan and the country’s own warring regions, such as Darfur.
Sudan’s director of intelligence said he had met with US Central Intelligence Agency director John Brennan twice to discuss cooperation on combating terrorism and extremism.
The measures do not affect Sudan’s label as a state sponsor of terrorism nor does it impact sanctions tied to Khartoum’s role in the conflict in Darfur, where the United Nations says up to 300,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since 2003.
Ghandour called the decision the start to improved relations with the United States that would attract foreign investment.
Sudan will review its monetary and exchange rate policies in a bid to lure new foreign investment after the United States lifts sanctions, the finance minister said without providing further detail.
Sudan’s economic problems have been building since the south seceded in 2011, taking with it three-quarters of oil output, the main source of foreign currency and government income.