US to begin talks to remove Sudan from terrorism list

Sudan said today that it had reached an agreement with the United States on a second phase of talks aimed at removing it from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Washington lifted 20-year-old trade sanctions on Sudan a year ago, but economists say foreign investors and banks are put off by the continued US designation of Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism, alongside Iran, North Korea and Syria.

“Sudan welcomes the launch of the second phase of strategic talks between the two parties … especially after the success of the first round of talks which led to the lifting of economic sanctions,” Sudan’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

Sudan’s continued listing as a state sponsor of terrorism makes it ineligible for badly needed debt relief and financing from lenders such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

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US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement Washington wanted Sudan to make further progress on human rights, religious and press freedoms, improving humanitarian access and expanding counter-terrorism cooperation.

Sudan’s economy has been struggling since the south of the country seceded in 2011, taking with it three-quarters of its oil output.