Mohamed Amin
December 14, 2020•Update: December 14, 2020
KHARTOUM
The US Embassy in Khartoum on Monday confirmed Sudan’s removal from the terrorism list after more than 27 years.
“The congressional notification period of 45 days has lapsed and the Secretary of State has signed a notification stating rescission of Sudan's State Sponsor of Terrorism designation is effective as of today (December 14), to be published in the Federal Register,” the embassy said in a statement.
On Oct. 23, outgoing President Donald Trump formally notified Congress of his intent to rescind Khartoum's placement on the US state sponsors of terrorism list.
The terror delisting won plaudits in Sudan, with the head of the country’s ruling Sovereign Council, Abdul Fattah Al-Burhan, saying the move will open new doors for development in the country.
“I thank all the government members, especially the ministerial committee working on this issue and all the Sudanese people, who made the revolution possible as well as this [US] decision,” he said in a press release.
Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok, for his part, described the US decision as historic, saying it will bring in a lot of economic benefits to Sudan.
“After three decades of global isolation, Sudan rejoins the international community as a peace-loving nation,” he tweeted. “This achievement supports our economic reforms, opens doors to foreign investments, allows the Sudanese diaspora and expats across the globe to carry out their financial transactions through official and transparent banking channels back home and creates jobs among numerous benefits.”
The Sudanese regime under the rule of Omar al-Bashir was accused by US administrations of being responsible for attacks against US interests, including the attack against the USS Cole destroyer in 2000 and the US embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.
Sudan has agreed to normalize relations with Israel after Egypt in 1979, Jordan in 1994, and both the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in 2020. Morocco also agreed last week to resume relations with Israel.
*Bassel Barakat contributed to this report from Ankara
