Tibor Nagy, US Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of African Affairs, said that Sudan’s name on the US list of State Sponsors of Terrorism (SST) does not prevent it from dealing with the international banking system.
He also noted that important negotiations were underway between the US administration and the transitional government in Sudan.
Nagy arrived in Khartoum on Monday, as part of a visit to a number of African countries. He met with Sudanese Foreign Minister Asma Mohamed Abdullah.
In a telephone press briefing from Khartoum, the US official asserted that Sudan’s continued presence on the US list of State Sponsors of Terrorism (SST), which is seen by many as a major obstacle to Sudan’s economic recovery, did not prevent the country from participating in international finance.
The sanctions preventing such dealing were lifted in 2017, he underlined.
“There are a number of other criteria; for instance, Sudan has considerable arrears to international financial institutions which prevent those international financial institutions from making additional loans or grants to Sudan, so that’s one of the problems,” Nagy explained.
“In fact, I believe it was in 2017 that we the US lifted sanctions regarding international trade and being able to participate in international finance. So the issue is, number one, reputational; number two, it is the arrears that Sudan has built up that will need to be negotiated in the future,” he added.
The US official refused to set a date for Sudan to be removed from the SST list, but he said during a reception hosted by the US embassy in Khartoum that he was visiting the country for the second time in less than a year, describing it as “the year of Sudan.”
“We see the new government of Sudan as a very positive partner, with whom we can do business. We can sit down; we can address these issues. We have active negotiations going on in a number of areas. We are optimistic. I wish I could give you a timeframe,” he remarked.
