Sudanese and US officials have arrived to an agreement that includes removing Sudan from the US list of terrorism sponsors, sources reported, adding that the agreement will be officially announced in the coming few days.
The two sides have also achieved a principal agreement on Sudan’s role in Arab states normalizing ties with Israel, promoting regional peace and preserving the rights of Palestinians.
Khartoum, however, tied its position on normalization with Israel to fulfilling its demands which include the provision of a package of financial aid and facilitating its access to loans from international financial institutions.
Khartoum and Washington have agreed to the US presenting Sudan with a $7 billion support package, delisting the North African nation from the US list of terrorism sponsors, and ensuring that Khartoum will not be persecuted in the future, sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.
In principal, Sudan has agreed to normalize ties with Israel if its conditions are met.
Sudanese and US officials have been engaged in high-level talks in Abu Dhabi for three days.
The US delegation, during the talks, made multiple calls to US President Donald Trump and his advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner, sources added.
General Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan, head of the ruling sovereign council, is expected to hold meetings with the cabinet and the sovereign council to unify the stance towards negotiations with the US, especially over normalizing ties with Israel.
This follows a number of opposition parties voicing their rejection of establishing ties with Israel.
A Sudanese team led by al-Burhan flew to the UAE on Sunday to hold talks with US officials on several issues including the removal of Sudan from a US list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Sudanese officials held “serious and frank talks” on the future of Arab-Israeli peace, which would lead to “stability in the region and preserve the right of the Palestinian people to establish their state according to the vision of a two-state solution”, a council statement said after the return of the delegation.
The two sides also discussed “the role that Sudan is expected to play in achieving this peace,” it said, without giving any details.
The council, made up of the military and civilians, has been in charge of Sudan since the toppling of autocrat Omar al-Bashir last year.
Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok said that the only thing standing in the way of the US removing Sudan off the US list of terrorism sponsors was the passing of the Sovereign Immunities Act in Washington.
Hamdok, during a cabinet briefing, confirmed that the compensation payments for the families of the victims and survivors of the USS Cole attack and the US embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania were ready.
Sudan is committed to pay a package of $335 million to settle all issues linked to terrorism.
