Africa

September 27, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok renewed calls on the international community to support Sudan to overcome the economic crisis that badly hit his country, stressing on the need to remove his country from the blacklist of terrorism.

In a pre-recorded speech to a remote session of the U.N. General Assembly on Saturday, Hamdok said that the transitional period faces huge challenges requiring the continued international support to address it.

The Sudanese premier added that exempting Sudan's foreign debts and obtaining soft loans as well as fulfilling the pledges made during the Sudan Partners Conference in Berlin last June are among the types of support his country is calling for.

"But before all, comes Sudan's removal from the list of states sponsors of terrorism. So that our country could complete its return to the international community after a forced interruption that lasted for three decades," he said.

"In this context, I would like to commend the recent steps taken by the U.S. administration and the U.S. Congress in support of the transitional government, including the determination to accelerate steps to rescind Sudan's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism," he stressed.

Hamdok was alluding to a group of U.S lawmakers including Christopher Coons who drafted legislation to restore Sudan's sovereign immunities before the courts. Also, It was reported the Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is now supporting the move.

Only remains opposed to this legislation, the Democrat Senator Robert Menendez who previously was very hostile to the regime of Omer al-Bashir.

In a recent letter to Congress, U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said that the administration would remove Sudan from the blacklist in October.

The rescission of Sudan designation as a terror state will allow the east African nation to negotiate debt relief and obtain financial support for its development programmes as well as zero-interest loans.

In his virtual intervention before the General Assembly, Hamdok said that the transitional government has inherited a “paralyzed economy” and a “weak, devastated service sector”, including a health system that had been neglected for decades.

Sudan has also been hit by recent torrential rain and floods which have caused severe loss of life and property. Tens of thousands of homes have either partially or completely collapsed, he told the General Assembly.

(ST)

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