⁍ Israel and Sudan agreed on Friday to take steps to normalize relations in a deal brokered with the help of the United States.
⁍ U.S. President Donald Trump sealed the agreement in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.
⁍ Trump’s decision this week to remove Sudan from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism paved the way for the accord with Israel.
– President Trump’s decision to remove Sudan from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism appears to have worked. The two countries announced Friday that they have agreed to normalize relations, Reuters reports. “The leaders agreed to the normalization of relations between Sudan and Israel and to end the state of belligerence between their nations,” says a joint statement from the three countries. “The leaders plan to begin by opening economic and trade links, with an initial focus on agriculture.” The announcement came in a phone call between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and Transitional Council Head Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. The three countries also promised US help for Khartoum to secure international debt relief. Trump’s decision to remove Sudan from the list, which has been in place since 1993, was negotiated on the US side by a team that included Trump son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner. Sudan’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism dates to its toppled ruler Omar al-Bashir and has made it difficult for its transitional government to access urgently needed debt relief and foreign financing. Many in Sudan say the designation, imposed in 1993 because Washington believed Bashir was supporting militant groups, has become outdated since he was removed last year. Trump announced Monday he would take Sudan off the terrorism list once it had deposited $335 million it had pledged to pay in compensation. Khartoum has since placed the funds in a special account for victims of al-Qaeda attacks on US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-sudan-israel-int/sudan-becomes-third-arab-state-to-set-aside-hostilities-with-israel-this-year-idUSKBN278220