Sudan, US ink Abraham Accords

Khartoum, Jan 7 : Sudan signed the Abraham Accords with the US, paving the way for the African nation to normalise relations with Israel after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

The document, signed by Sudanese Justice Minister Nasreddin Abdel Bari and visiting US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Wednesday, highlights “tolerance, dialogue and co-existence among different peoples and religions in the Middle East and beyond”, Xinhua news agency reported.

Mnuchin arrived in Sudan’s capital Khartoum earlier in the day.

The development comes after Washington decided on December 14, 2020, to remove Khartoum from the list of states sponsoring terrorism and restore Sudan’s sovereign immunity on December 22, 2020.

On October 23, 2020, Sudan signed a joint statement with the USs and Israel that announced the agreement between Sudan and Israel to normalize their relations.

Also on Wednesday, Sudan’s Ministry of Finance and the US Department of the Treasury on signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide financing facilities to clear Khartoum’s arrears to the World Bank (WB).

The MoU was signed between Sudease Finance Minister Hiba Mohamed Ali and Mnuchin.

“The MoU will enable Sudan to make access to over $1 billion in annual financing from the World Bank for the first time in 27 years,” Sudan’s Finance Ministry said.

It added that restoring access to financing from international financial institutions is an achievement for the transitional government and an important step on the country’s path towards writing off Sudan’s debts and benefiting from the International Development Association (IDA) grants to finance major infrastructure projects and other development projects throughout Sudan.

Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from IANS service.