EU hails US plan to remove Sudan from terror blacklist

People celebrate during the signing ceremony of the peace deal between the Sudanese government and rebel groups, in Juba, South Sudan, 3 October 2020. The Sudanese transitional government and rebel groups on 3 October signed a peace agreement that aim to put an end armed conflicts across the country. [Atiol Elmalik/EPA/EFE]

The EU’s diplomatic chief on Monday (19 October) welcomed President Donald Trump’s announcement that he is ready to remove Sudan from a US blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism.

The move, a major boost for Sudan’s civilian-backed government after decades as an international pariah, came after Khartoum agreed to a $335 million compensation package for victims and relatives of past attacks, Trump wrote on Twitter.

EU foreign affairs high representative Josep Borrell said the proposed delisting was recognition of Sudan’s progress under Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.

“US intention to lift the State Sponsor of Terrorism designation of #Sudan is momentous,” Borrell wrote on Twitter.

“It enhances its (Sudan’s) integration into international community and access to world economy. EU fully supports Sudan transition.”

Sudan is one of four nations branded by Washington as a state sponsor of terrorism along with Iran, North Korea and Syria — severely impeding economic development, with few major foreign investors willing to run afoul of US laws.

Sudan was designated in 1993 during the rule of dictator Omar al-Bashir, who welcomed Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden in the 1990s as he imposed a brand of political Islamism on the country.

Sudan’s inclusion on the US state sponsors of terror list has blocked it from receiving badly needed foreign funding, including from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

EU countries to give Sudan €466 million in grants, aid

European Union countries will give Sudan €466 million in grants and humanitarian aid, the state news agency SUNA said on Wednesday (30 October) after an EU delegation met Sudan’s foreign minister in Khartoum.

France will host a conference with Sudan’s international creditors to help Khartoum address debt issues as soon as the United States removes the country from its state-sponsored terrorism list, French President Emmanuel Macron said last year.

France offers a conference on Sudan's debt if US lifts sanctions

France will host a conference with Sudan’s international creditors to help Khartoum address debt issues as soon as the United States removes the country from its state-sponsored terrorism list, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday (30 September).

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