Sudan will be removed from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list and will begin a partnership with the United States and Israel, President Donald Trump announced on Friday.
“HUGE win today for the United States and for peace in the world. Sudan has agreed to a peace and normalization agreement with Israel! With the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, that’s THREE Arab countries to have done so in only a matter of weeks. More will follow!” he tweeted.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1319683876046934016?s=20
The agreement comes just weeks after Trump secured two other historic peace deals in the Middle East through the signing of The Abraham Accords with Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, which established full diplomatic relations of the countries with Israel. These deals facilitated by the Trump Administration are meant to bring “stability, security, and prosperity” in the region.
“This move will improve regional security and unlock new opportunities for the people of Sudan, Israel, the Middle East, and Africa,” the joint statement released by the White House said.
Trump granted Sudan’s removal from the terrorism list after the nation paid “$335 million to compensate American victims of past terror attacks and their families.” Removal from the list now allows the country to access “international loans and aid.”
According to the statement, Sudanese Chairman of the Sovereignty Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, all joined Trump to “discuss Sudan’s historic progress towards democracy and opportunities to advance peace in the region” in a “bold and visionary approach.”
“This is one of the great days in the history of Sudan,” Trump said, noting that Israel and Sudan have been in a state of war for decades.
In addition to normalizing relations and ending “belligerence between their nations,” Israel and Sudan have also agreed to begin trade and cooperation negotiations with each other and will work together on advancing “peace in the region.”
While Sudan previously lived under a “brutal dictatorship,” the statement notes that the country has recently seen significant progress in “combating terrorism, building its democratic institutions, and improving its relations with its neighbors.” This in turn granted the nation the opportunity to work with the U.S. to “restore Sudan’s sovereign immunity and to engage its international partners to reduce Sudan’s debt burdens.”
The deal, which would deepen Sudan’s engagement with the West, follows Trump’s conditional agreement this week to remove the North African nation from the list of state sponsors of terrorism if it pays compensation to American victims of terror attacks.
“Israel also committed to working with their partners to support the people of Sudan in strengthening their democracy, improving food security, countering terrorism and extremism, and tapping into their economic potential,” the statement declared.
“It is a new world,” Netanyahu said on the phone with reporters in the Oval Office. “We are cooperating with everyone. Building a better future for all of us.”
Trump also signaled his intent to continue negotiating deals with other Middle East countries, saying there are at least five others, including Saudi Arabia, that want in.
https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1319682278528876546?s=20
