Sudan has expressed optimism that its name will be removed from the American list of state sponsors of terrorism, which it has been listed on for nearly three decades, while Washington said this could happen within a few weeks.
After a phone conversation yesterday, Wednesday, between Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdock and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry expressed optimism about the development taking place in discussions with the United States on removing the name of Sudan from the list that Washington had included in it since 1993.
Ministry spokesman Haider Badawi Sadiq said to the island that there is optimism on both sides that things are moving towards achieving a settlement and agreement on removing Sudan from the US list soon.
In Washington, the US Secretary of State said that he had a telephone conversation, which he described as excellent with the Sudanese Prime Minister, adding that they were working with him to reach a solution and a good result for Sudan’s new leaders and Sudanese.
Pompeo commented on the possibility of removing Sudan from the US terrorist list, saying, "I have hope that this may happen in the coming weeks."
The US State Department said in a statement that Pompeo and Hamdock discussed during the phone conversation the policies and requirements necessary to remove the name of Sudan from the American list of countries sponsoring terrorism, in addition to bilateral relations and the Sudan Partners Conference that will be held today, Thursday.
Earlier, Sudanese Foreign Minister Asma Abdullah said that her country was close to a settlement with the American side in the issue of compensation for the families and victims of the 1998 bombings of the United States embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and this issue is among the outstanding issues in the process of removing the name of Sudan from the American list.
An international conference
On the other hand, a donors' conference is being held today in Berlin to support Sudan’s deteriorating economy, but the promises expected by the participants in the conference are much less than what Khartoum requires to overcome the economic and social crisis.
European diplomats said that Western countries hope that the Sudan Partners Conference - hosted by Germany and the United Nations and held via video technology - will provide at least $ 500 million to support a cash program developed by the Sudanese government, targeting poor families.
According to the same source, the conference will also discuss ways to start reducing the debt burden of Sudan.
In August last year, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdock estimated the value of the funds needed by his country at $ 8 billion.
The government of Hamdok intends to launch a cash transfer program for the poor valued at one billion and 900 million dollars, with the assistance of the World Bank, with the aim of mitigating the effects of raising government support for fuel and other commodities.
With the outbreak of the Corona virus in Sudan, the economic difficulties worsened, inflation reached 100% last month, and the country suffers from high prices and shortages of some basic materials, while the government pledged to solve such problems that were the cause of the protests that overthrew former President Omar al-Bashir.