US LIFTS SOME ECONOMIC SANCTIONS ON SUDAN

The lifting of Sudan sanctions by the United States has been met with joy by many in both the African and International communities. US decision to lift some economic sanctions against Khartoum, was a “positive and important” development.

The head of the African Union commission, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, welcomed the decision of United States to partially lift economic and trade sanctions on Sudan. Zuma “acknowledges the importance of this development which will allow Sudan to reengage in international trade and end the suffering of its people”. She further expressed hopes that the administration of President Donald Trump “will consider permanent revocation of the sanctions in Executive Orders 13067 and 13412 and further work towards granting debts relief to the Republic of Sudan “.

The Arab League on its part has welcomed US decision to lift economic sanctions on Sudan, which have been in place for 20 years. In a press release it pointed out that it has continuously been opposed to the sanctions and has repeatedly called for them to be lifted. In the UAE, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces congratulated Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir on the development.

The move allows the U.S. Department of the Treasury to immediately authorize expanding trade and investment in Sudan. U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the executive order also provides Sudan "with a clear path to the permanent revocation of sanctions in six months if progress in these five areas continues."

Under Obama’s order, section one of President Bill Clinton’s 1997 executive order freezing Sudan's assets would be lifted in six months if Sudan's good behavior continues. It would also lift section two, which blocked all Sudanese imports into the U.S.