Lift sanctions, Sudan urges Trump

KHARTOUM. – The Sudanese government said at the weekend that the new US government under President-elect Donald Trump should reconsider policies towards the country.

“We expect a breakthrough in the Sudanese-American relationship in the era of President Trump, and we hope the new American administration would reconsider the American policy towards Sudan,” said Kamal-Eddin Ismail, Sudan’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs, in a statement.

He also reiterated Sudan’s readiness to cooperate with the new US administration on counter-terrorism and human trafficking.

On the issue of economic embargo, the minister expressed hope about reaching understandings between the two countries.

“There should be great efforts to reach understandings with Washington to lift the economic embargo from Sudan in the coming period,” he said.

Ismail also criticised President Barack Obama for renewing the US economic sanctions on Sudan.

“We expected the economic sanctions not to be renewed, but unfortunately they have been renewed by the end of Obama’s rule,” he said.

The United States started to impose sanctions on Sudan in 1997 and has been listing it one of the countries sponsoring terrorism.

Since then, Washington has been renewing its sanctions on Sudan due to the continuing war in Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan regions, in addition to a number of outstanding issues between Sudan and South Sudan such as the territorial dispute over the oil-rich Abyei area.

In February 2015, however, the US announced its decision to loosen sanctions on Sudan by allowing exports of personal communications hardware and software including smartphones and laptops, in what it said a move to help the Sudanese integrate into the global digital community.

Sudan’s losses due to the US sanctions reportedly amount to more than $4 billion annually.

Moreover, Sudan has been witnessing an escalating economic crisis since the secession of South Sudan in 2011, as the country has lost about 70 percent of its oil revenues and 50 percent of the government revenues. -Xinhua