Sudan Signs Deal With US to Normalise Ties With Israel

Sudan was one of four members of the Arab League to agree to normalise ties with the State of Israel in 2020, with Washington sweetening the deal for Khartoum by promising sanctions relief and removing Sudan from being designated by the State Department as a 'state sponsor of terrorism'.

Sudan has officially joined the 'Abraham Accords', signing a memorandum of understanding with the US on Wednesday to formally normalise its ties with Israel, according to a statement put out by the office of the prime minister.

The deal was signed alongside a separate agreement between Sudan's Ministry of Finance and the US Treasury facilitating the clearance of Sudan's arrears to the World Bank, with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin presiding over the ceremony alongside Sudanese Justice Minister Nasredeen Abdulbari. 

Mnuchin is the highest-ranking official to visit Sudan since the early Nineties, when Washington slapped Khartoum with a 'state sponsor of terrorism' designation for harbouring Islamist terrorists and members of Palestinian militia groups.

The Republic of the Sudan
Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning

Press Release

Wednesday, 6 January 2021

*Sudan’s Ministry of Finance and US Treasury sign Memorandum of Understanding to facilitate clearance of Sudan’s arrears to the World Bank*
(1/8) pic.twitter.com/mAl0A6OHdF

— Sudan Ministry of Finance (@SudanFinance) January 6, 2021

Sudan is one of four members of the 22-member Arab League that recently reversed more than 70 years of policy and agreed to normalise ties with Tel Aviv. In September, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain became the first Arab nations to sign peace deals with Israel since Egypt and Jordan in 1979 and 1994, respectively. US officials announced that Khartoum had signed on to the normalisation agreement in October. In December, Morocco became the third Arab League country to agree to recognise Israel.

On Saturday, Israeli media reported leaks from a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his Likud Party in which he reportedly said that there were yet more Arab countries which would like to normalise ties with Tel Aviv.

Late last month, it was reported that Saudi Arabia's royal family was split on whether to pen a peace deal with the Israelis, with Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman reportedly inclined toward signing a peace deal with the Jewish State and other members of his family and government in opposition. Previously, Riyadh sought peace with Israel via the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, a 10-point proposal to end the Arab-Israeli confilct endorsed by the Arab League.

The Trump administration played a key role in facilitating each of the normalisation deals, offering Khartoum sanctions relief and promising to approve a $23 billion weapons deal with the UAE including advanced drones and fighter jets. Tel Aviv, meanwhile, has made a commitment to freeze temporarily its plans to 'apply sovereignty' over internationally recognised Palestinian territories in the West Bank. In Morocco's case, Washington formally recognised Rabat's claims to Western Sahara.