A Sudanese diplomatic delegation attended on Tuesday the signing ceremony in Washington of the normalization of relations between the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain with Israel.
Oman’s ambassador to the United States was also present at the landmark event.
Former US peace envoy Dennis Ross, meanwhile, predicted that other Arab countries will follow the example of the UAE and Bahrain. He said that Sudan, Oman and Morocco were probably next to sign accords with Israel.
Asharq Al-Awsat learned that Sudan’s deputy ambassador to the US Amira Agaraib was present at the ceremony.
Amichai Stein, Israeli correspondent at the Kann diplomatic desk and Israeli public broadcasting corporation, tweeted that Agaraib was in attendance even though Sudan and Israel do not have diplomatic ties.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had during a visit to Sudan in August requested that the government normalize relations with Israel and Washington would in return remove the country from its list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok informed him that since he is heading a transitional government, it does not have the mandate to sign such an accord. He also refused to link the normalization to Sudan’s removal from the terror list.
US President Donald Trump had announced minutes before Tuesday’s ceremony that five or six Arab countries will soon ink similar deals with Israel. He did not name the countries, but observers said that Sudan was probably one of them.
Sudan's ambassador to the US, Noureldin Satti, told Newsweek last week that his government will support any deal that brings peace to the region, though stressed normalization with Israel is not a fait accompli.
"The Sudanese government has not pronounced itself formally on the Israel-UAE deal," he explained. "As a peacemaker, I believe that whatever is good for peace is good for the region. The region needs peace more than anything else, but peace has to be inclusive and all-embracing."
"As things stand today, it is difficult to say that the Sudanese people are ready and willing to normalize ties with Israel," he added. "This is a highly controversial issue and the Sudanese people need time to weigh the pros and cons. But, yet again, the issue of incentives and dividends is important."
