KHARTOUM: Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said Monday that Cairo was supporting efforts to remove Sudan from Washington’s blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism, a key factor hindering the African country’s economic revival.
Shoukry is in Khartoum for a one-day visit to hold talks with top officials in what Cairo hailed as a “new start” in relations between the neighbors as Sudan transitions toward civilian rule.
Egypt had been a steadfast ally of Sudanese military generals who seized power after the army ousted long-time leader Omar Al-Bashir in April following months of nationwide protests against his autocratic rule.
But previously ties between the neighbors had often been strained over the years due to trade and border disputes, although efforts have been taken by both to address the concerns.
On Monday, Shoukry held talks with new Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and Sudan’s first female foreign affairs minister, Asma Mohamed Abdalla.
He also met General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, the head of a joint civilian-military sovereign council that is overseeing Sudan’s transition.
Shoukry said that during his talks, which aimed to “boost relations between the two countries,” he offered Cairo’s backing for dropping Sudan from Washington’s list of state sponsors of terrorism.
“Egypt is supporting Sudan to be removed from the terrorism list,” he told reporters.
“We have also raised this issue with the United States of America ... we will continue pushing for it in coordination with the Sudanese authorities.”
Decades of US blacklisting along with a trade embargo imposed on Sudan in 1997 has kept overseas investors away from the country, in turn isolating it from the global economy.
Sudan’s worsening economic situation was the key trigger for nationwide protests that finally led to the ouster of Bashir.
Washington lifted the sanctions in October 2017, but still kept Sudan in the terrorism list along with North Korea, Iran and Syria.
Washington’s harsh measures were imposed for Khartoum’s alleged support for extremist militant groups.
Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden used to reside in Sudan between 1992 to 1996.
Washington and Khartoum have, however, engaged in negotiations to remove Sudan from the terrorism blacklist since the sanctions were lifted.
The Egyptian foreign ministry earlier said that Shoukry’s visit “shows Egypt’s support for Sudan and to its people in achieving their demands.”
Relations between Cairo and Khartoum had deteriorated in early 2017, when Bashir accused Egypt of supporting rebels in conflict zones, including Darfur in western Sudan.
Sudan in May 2017 banned the import of animal and other agricultural products from its northern neighbor.
But for years the main bone of contention between the two countries has been Egypt’s control of the Halayeb triangle, which lies in a mineral-rich border region.
During Bashir’s rule, Sudan regularly protested at Egypt’s administration of Halayeb and the Shalatin border region near the Red Sea, saying they are part of its sovereign territory since shortly after independence in 1956.
Ties between the neighbors improved after Sudan lifted the ban on Egyptian products in 2018 following talks in Khartoum between Bashir and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
El-Sisi and other Egyptian officials had regularly called for stability in Sudan after protests erupted against Bashir in December.
Egypt pushes for end to US ‘terror’ blacklisting of Sudan
Egypt pushes for end to US ‘terror’ blacklisting of Sudan
- Egypt wants more support for neighboring Sudan’s new civilian government
- The US named Sudan a state sponsor of terror in 1993
Iran president confirms talks with US
- No official confirmation from Tehran on where the talks would be held
Iran’s president confirmed on Tuesday that he had ordered the start of talks with the US following requests “from friendly governments.”
There has been no official confirmation from Iran on where the talks would be held, but an Arab official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP a meeting was likely to take place in Turkiye on Friday, following diplomatic interventions by Ankara, as well as Egypt, Oman and Qatar.
US President Donald Trump has spoken of potential military action and sent an aircraft carrier group to the Middle East following anti-government protests in Iran that were met with a deadly crackdown last month.
FASTFACT
On Tuesday, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said diplomacy with Iran was ‘continuing very intensively,’ in ‘tandem with all our neighbors.’
Trump has maintained he is hopeful that Washington will “work something out” with Tehran, but also warned that “bad things would happen” if a deal was not agreed.
Tehran has insisted it wants diplomacy, while promising a decisive response to any aggression.
“I have instructed my Minister of Foreign Affairs, provided that a suitable environment exists — one free from threats and unreasonable expectations — to pursue fair and equitable negotiations,” President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote in a post on X.
He added that the talks followed requests “from friendly governments.”
On Tuesday, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said diplomacy with Iran was “continuing very intensively,” in “tandem with all our neighbors.”
Earlier, a senior official from the UAE said Iran needed to reach a deal and “rebuild their relationship with the US.”
I have instructed my Minister of Foreign Affairs, provided that a suitable environment exists to pursue fair and equitable negotiations.
President, Masoud Pezeshkian
“I would like to see direct Iranian-American negotiations leading to understandings so that we don’t have these issues every other day,” said presidential adviser Anwar Gargash.
Iran has repeatedly stressed that any talks should remain focused solely on the nuclear issue, rejecting the possibility of negotiations over its missile program or defense capabilities.
In an interview with CNN broadcast on Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran had lost trust in Washington as a negotiating partner but a deal on the nuclear issue remained achievable.
“So I see the possibility of another talk if the US negotiation team follows what President Trump said: to come to a fair and equitable deal to ensure that there is no nuclear weapons,” he said.
Since his return to office in January last year, Trump has reinstated his “maximum pressure” policy of sanctions against Iran, piling additional pain on a floundering economy.
Protests against the rising cost of living broke out in Tehran in December before evolving into wider nationwide anti-government demonstrations that triggered a deadly crackdown by the authorities.
Iranian officials have acknowledged more than 3,000 deaths during the unrest, but insist that most were members of the security forces and innocent bystanders, attributing the violence to “terrorist acts.”
The Human Rights Activists News Agency, a US-based NGO, says it has confirmed 6,854 deaths, mostly protesters killed by security forces, with other rights groups warning the figure is likely far higher.
On Tuesday, the NGO said it had counted at least 50,235 arrests linked to the protests, with further detentions ongoing.
Meanwhile, local media reported that the authorities had detained 139 foreign nationals in central parts of the country during the protests.
