Sudan no longer considered a terrorist ally by the United States

27 years is how long Sudan has been on the blacklist of countries that finance and support terrorism for the United States. The improvement in the situation in the country following the signing of the peace agreements this October has been viewed with optimism by the international community.

This resolution of a conflict situation that was approaching two decades in duration, together with the normalisation of Sudan's relations with Israel, have been rewarded by the United States' withdrawal of the country's presence from the blacklist.

From today, 14 December, Sudan will no longer be on the list of sponsors of terrorism and will be published in the Federal Register. Khartoum has also undertaken to pay the victims of the 1998 attacks on the embassies of Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in addition to those of the attack on the destroyer USS Cole in the port of Aden, Yemen. In total more than 300 million dollars will be paid by Sudan as reparation for the damage.

The still US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, also pointed out that a new stage in relations with Sudan has begun today by removing the designation of the country as a haven for terrorist groups. Other countries recently removed from the list were Cuba in 2015, while the three that remain on it are Syria since 1979, Iran since 1984 and North Korea since 2017.

Sudan, together with Uzbekistan, has also disappeared from the list of countries that limit religious freedoms, which the United States includes in its Religious Freedom Act. This list is much more extensive than that of the countries that sponsor terrorism, and monitors trends that reflect the persecution of religious practice and tolerance. It includes countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Eritrea, China, Pakistan and Nigeria.