Hamdok: Sudan's Removal of Terrorism List Shouldn't Be Conditioned

Sudan's Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok asserted that his country does not want to link its removal from a US list of states sponsoring terrorism - to the normalization of relations with Israel.

Being on that list, the country is hindered its access to foreign funding and aid to support its ailing economy.

According to Reuters, sources said that after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, the United States wants other Arab and Muslim countries to recognize Israel and normalize relations with it.

“We told him during a visit by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last month that it was important to keep the two issues separate and discuss the Israeli issue,” Hamdok said in a conference in Khartoum.

The designation of his country as a state sponsor of terrorism dates back to the era of its ousted president, Omar Al-Bashir.

On another hand, Hamdok affirmed, in a video statement sent to the United Nations General Assembly, that Sudan is participating "actively in international and bilateral efforts exerted against terrorism and its financing."

He added: “The Sudanese people are moving confidently and steadily on their way towards the future as a friend and equal partner with all peace-loving people of the world,” explaining that the country will now aim to transform its foreign policy from the one that’s prevailed the last three decades.

In this new approach, "Khartoum will reach out to its regional neighbours and all other countries worldwide, with a true spirit of friendship, guided by its genuine belief in human values and the heritage of Sudanese wisdom," he said.

Sudan pledges to uphold international law, human rights, and efforts to end discrimination, exploitation, injustice and inequality.  “We remain committed to maintaining international peace and security,” he said.

He said that his country is determined to address the root causes of its civil wars: economic marginalization, and ethnic, cultural and religious discrimination. As such, in addition to promoting social coexistence and fostering a culture of peace and tolerance among all components of the Sudanese people, he declared his determination to move forward in this way by building a state of government, a state of citizenship, a state of balanced development, and a state of protecting the rights of Sudanese.