CAIRO (AP) – Sudan said on Wednesday it has signed the “Abraham Accords” with the US, paving the way for the African country to normalize ties with Israel.
According to a statement from the office of the Prime Minister of Sudan, Justice Minister Nasredeen Abdulbari signed the agreement on Wednesday with a visit to US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
The recent US-negotiated agreements between Arab countries and Israel are a major achievement of the foreign policy of President Donald Trump’s administration. The deals were called the “Abraham Accords,” after the biblical patriarch revered by Muslims and Jews.
The signing came just over two months after Trump announced that Sudan would normalize ties with Israel.
Before Sudan, the Trump administration made diplomatic pacts between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain late last year – the first since Jordan recognized Israel in the 1990s and Egypt in the 1970s. Morocco also has diplomatic ties with Israel.
The agreements are all with countries that are geographically distant from Israel and which, if any, have played a minor role in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The accords have also contributed to the serious isolation and weakening of the Palestinians by eroding the long-standing Arab consensus that recognition of Israel should only be given in return for concessions in the peace process.
THIS IS AN GREAT NEWS UPDATE. The following is AP’s previous story.
The US and Sudan agreed on Wednesday to pay the African country’s debt to the World Bank, which is widely seen as an important step towards the country’s economic recovery following the 2019 overthrow of longtime autocrat Omar al- Bashir.
The move came during Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s visit to Khartoum, making him the first senior U.S. official to land there since President Donald Trump’s administration removed the African country from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Mnuchin arrived at Khartoum International Airport, where he was met by acting Treasury Secretary Heba Mohammed Ali, and US Charge d’Affaires in Sudan Brian Shukan, the prime minister’s office said in a statement.
It is the first visit by a sitting US Secretary of the Treasury to Sudan, the statement said. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in August became the first top US diplomat to visit Sudan since 2005, when Condoleezza Rice paid a visit. Pompeo was also the highest-ranking US official to visit the African country since al-Bashir’s ouster last year.
Mnuchin’s visit came after a one-day visit to Cairo, where he met with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, a close US ally. The stops are part of a wave of activity during the closing days of the Trump administration. Democrat Joe Biden will become president on January 20.
The US Treasury Secretary has met with Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and is scheduled to meet with other Sudanese leaders, including General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, the head of the ruling sovereign council.
The visit came “at a time when our bilateral relations are making historic leaps towards a brighter future. We plan to make tangible progress today as our relationships move into a #NewEra, ”Hamdok tweeted.
Mnuchin’s one-day visit focused on the country’s struggling economy and possible US economic aid, including debt relief, the statement said. Sudan currently has more than $ 60 billion in external debt. Clearing his backlog and access to foreign borrowing is widely seen as the gateway to economic recovery.
The Sudan Treasury said it had signed a “Memorandum of Understanding” with the US Treasury Department to facilitate payment of arrears to the World Bank.
The ministry said the settlement would allow the Sudanese government to get more than $ 1 billion from the World Bank annually, for the first time in nearly three decades when Sudan was designated a pariah state. It did not provide further details.
However, the Justice Department announced last month that the US would provide a $ 1 billion bridge loan to the World Bank to help Sudan’s backlog of the institution, in addition to $ 1.1 billion of direct and indirect US aid.
Sudan is on a fragile path to democracy after a popular uprising led the military to overthrow al-Bashir in April 2019. The province is now ruled by a joint military and civilian government seeking closer ties with Washington and the West.
The government is facing a massive budget deficit and widespread shortages of essential goods, including fuel, bread and medicine.
According to official figures, annual inflation has risen by more than 200% in recent months as the prices of bread and other commodities soared.
Last month, the Trump administration completed Sudan’s removal from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism. The move was a major boost to the Khartoum government to normalize relations with Israel.
The two countries, Sudan and Israel, have agreed to have full diplomatic ties, making Sudan the third Arab state – after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain – to normalize relations with Israel late last year. Morocco also has diplomatic ties with Israel.
Sudan’s economy has suffered from decades of US sanctions and mismanagement under al-Bashir, who had ruled the country since an Islam-backed military coup in 1989.
The designation dates back to the 1990s, when Sudan briefly sheltered al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and other wanted militants. Sudan is also said to have served as a pipeline for Iran to supply weapons to Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.
Mnuchin’s visit came amid mounting tensions between military and civilian members of Sudan’s transitional government. Those tensions, which have resurfaced in recent weeks, have largely focused on the economic assets of the Sudanese military, over which the civilian-led Ministry of Finance has no control.
John Prendergast, co-founder of The Sentry watchdog group, urged the United States Treasury Secretary to put pressure on the military and security apparatus to allow “independent oversight” of the companies they monitor.
“While Minister Mnuchin is in charge of leadership in Khartoum, it is critical that he provides strong support for international anti-money laundering standards and tax transparency, which are essential for Sudan to counter the looting of its national economy,” he said.