Sudan became the latest country to normalize its relationship with Israelon October 23, as an agreement between the two countries ended the officialstatus of war between them. US President Don-ald Trump announced theagreement following a discussion with Sudanese Chairman of the SovereigntyCouncil Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, andIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The agreement comes at the same time as Trump announced that he will removeSudan from the US State Sponsors of Terrorism List in recognition of thecountry’s progress towards democracy after the ouster of former leader Omaral-Bashir in 2019 and in return for a compensation package from Sudan forUS terrorism victims. In a joint statement, the Trump administration saidthat the United States “will take steps to restore Sudan’s sovereignimmunity and to engage its international partners to reduce Sudan’s debtburdens, including advancing discussions on debt forgiveness consistentwith the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative.” Israel and Sudan willalso “begin economic and trade relations, with an initial focus onagriculture,” and will “meet in the coming weeks to negotiate agreements ofcooperation in those areas as well as in agriculture technology, aviation,migration issues and other areas for the benefit of the two peoples.”
The normalization agreement follows similar agreements between Israel andthe United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, as both the United States and Israelhave sought to improve Israeli ties with countries across the region,especially as Iran continues its military aggression. Atlantic Councilexperts react to the normalization between Sudan and Israel, and analyzewhat it means for both countries and the wider region:
Normalization a watershed moment for Sudan: “Today’s dual White Houseannouncements that the Trump administration is both removing Sudan from theterrorism list and that Sudan and Israel are normalizing relations are bothwatershed events that will hopefully further Sudan’s political and economictransformation. While all sides would like to see these announcements ashaving been reached on their own merits, coming as they do only minutesapart, it is hard not to see them as linked.
“To its credit, Washington lived up to its word and announced Sudan’sremoval from the terror list after Khartoum met the last requirement oftransferring $335 million to Washington’s settlement payment for the 1998US Embassy bombings.
This is a huge political win for Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok,who came into office pledging to shed the legacy of Sudan’s terrorist pastand remake its relations with the international community, but who inrecent months has come under withering criticism for his inability tostabilize the country’s failing economy.
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These announcement no doubt help to do that but could come at significantpolitical cost to him as many at home will see Khartoum’s normalizationwith Tel Aviv as too high a price to pay for achieving its delisting.
But Hamdok hopes that the extensive package of sweeteners that Trump andNetanyahu have attached to the normalization deal, including debt relief,development assistance, and huge investment guarantees, will be enough tomitigate the accusations that are certain to emerge that Sudan was“bullied” and “blackmailed” into an agreement that is not supported by theSudanese public. Critical now for the prime minister will be to translatetoday’s announcement promises from Washington and Tel Aviv into lower breadprices, shorter fuel lines, and more abundant electricity—tangible signs toaverage Sudanese that the country is finally turning the corner. If thosebenefits can be felt quickly, then most will believe that the bargain wasworth it.”
Cameron Hudson, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center andpreviosuly served as the chief of staff to the special envoy for Sudan andas director for African Affairs on the National Security Council in theGeorge W. Bush administration.
