Sudan hopes to restore 'normal relations' with US

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Sudanese foreign minister has said his country, which has been under US sanctions for roughly 20 years, is looking forward to the restoration of normal ties soon.

FM Ibrahim Ghandour made the remarks during a meeting with US President Donald Trump’s new aid administrator ahead of an Oct. 12 deadline for a decision by Washington on easing some of the sanctions.

“We know the queries in the mind of each one of us,” Reuters quotes Ghandour to have told Mark Green, head of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

“On our side we look forward for a normalization of our relations with an important country – the important country in the world – the US,” said Ghandour, who has overseen dialogue with Washington over the easing of 20-year-old sanctions.

He added: “I look forward to seeing a normal relation between my country and yours.”

In January, former US President Barack Obama announced plans to ease the sanctions as a goodwill gesture recognizing Sudan’s increased cooperation in the fight against terrorism and Khartoum’s pivot from Iran to the Gulf States.

Any such move could suspend a trade embargo, unfreeze assets and remove financial restrictions that have hobbled the Sudanese economy.

Implementation of the move was however delayed for six months to allow Sudan more time to make progress on key demands and to give the new Trump administration time to settle in.

Also, Washington has not weakened its condemnation of the tactics the Sudanese government used in Darfur – and Sudan remains on the US list of state sponsors of terrorism, alongside Iran and Syria.