KHARTOUM/WASHINGTON
Sudan has
appointed its first ambassador to the United States for almost a quarter of a
century, its foreign ministry said on Monday, in a move to normalize relations
after decades of antagonism.
Sudan's Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok speaks during a press conference in Khartoum, Sudan
Both countries pledged to improve ties after the
fall of veteran Islamist ruler Omar al-Bashir in an uprising a year ago.
The Sudanese foreign ministry said it had chosen
Noureldin Sati, a veteran diplomat, as ambassador in Washington and that U.S.
authorities had approved his nomination.
A State Department representative declined to
provide any insight on plans to appoint its own ambassador to Sudan and said it
did not have specific information on the timing for that, but called the
December decision to exchange ambassadors “a historic step.”
Both countries had for almost a quarter of century
appointed only charge d’affaires, a diplomatic rank under an ambassador, to run
their embassies in Washington and Khartoum.
In December, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
said the two countries would exchange ambassadors. The U.S. ambassador would be
nominated by President Donald Trump and needs to be confirmed by the U.S.
Senate.
The U.S. government added Sudan to its list of
state sponsors of terrorism in 1993 over allegations that Bashir’s Islamist
government was supporting Islamist militant groups, leaving Sudan ineligible
for badly needed debt relief and financing from the International Monetary Fund
and World Bank.
Last year, a senior State Department official said
the United States might remove Sudan from the list but the U.S. Congress needed
to ratify such a move.
The State Department representative declined to
comment on internal U.S. government deliberations on where the talks are about
Sudan being removed from the list but added that the two countries remain
engaged in active discussions.
“Compensation for the victims of terrorism remains a priority for the U.S. government. The United States and Sudan continue to engage regarding certain terrorism-related claims,” the spokesperson said. - Reuters
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