Sudan Appears to Back Away From Rapid Normalization With Israel

SUDAN (Capital Markets in Africa) – Sudan appeared to back away from any rapid move toward normalization with Israel, less than two days after the military leader who heads the power-sharing government held a historic meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu.

“The transitional government as a whole must ensure accountability, responsibility, and transparency in all decisions made,” Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said Wednesday on Twitter.
Under a new pact agreed after the ouster of longtime President Omar al-Bashir last year, “decisions related to Sudan’s foreign affairs must be made by the Council of Ministers,” he said.

After the shock Monday meeting in Uganda between Netanyahu and Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of Sudan’s sovereign council, the Israeli leader’s office said the two had agreed to work toward normalizing relations. That would be a watershed for the Arab League member that’s never officially recognized the Jewish state.

The news sparked fierce debate in Sudan, with the civilian part of the government saying it hadn’t been notified of the meeting beforehand.

Al-Burhan late Tuesday said that the talks were in the interests of national security and furthering the goals of Sudan. He said relations with Israel are the responsibility of a specific institution — a reference to the cabinet — and that Sudan remained committed to Palestinians’ right to an independent state.

Source: Bloomberg Business News