U.S. reinstates Sudan’s sovereign debtimmunity,immunity,allowsfundstopayallows funds to pay debt

KHARTOUM - The United States on Monday reinstated Sudan’s sovereign immunity, as the U.S. Congress passed legislation formalising the move, following the ending of Sudan’s designation as a state sponsor of terror.

However, the legislation includes an exemption allowing lawsuits by the families of victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States already underway in U.S. courts to move forward, although experts say Sudan is unlikely to lose those cases.

The state sponsor of terror designation, which was in place for almost three decades, had weighed on Sudan’s economy and restricted its ability to receive aid. For investors, the reinstating of sovereign immunity removes another layer of financial risk.

Sudan had been engaged in talks with the United States for months, and paid a negotiated $335 million settlement to victims of al-Qaeda attacks on

U.S. embassies in East Africa in 1998 who had been awarded much higher damages by U.S. courts.

The process to release the settlement money and restore Sudan’s sovereign immunity - protection against being sued in American courts - had been stalled in the U.S. Congress as it had been tied to the $892 billion coronavirus aid package.

Late on Monday, the wider package was passed in the U.S. Congress after a deal had been worked out in a rare weekend session, and sent to President Donald Trump to sign into law.

According to the bill, Washington will be authorising $111 million to pay off part of Sudan’s bilateral debt, and $120 million to help pay off its debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) while making another $700 million available until September 2022 for assistance to the country .–