Sudan: ‘US is not a charity’, nothing is for free

The US is not a charity that donates things for goodwill without expecting something in return, the head of the Sovereignty Council of Sudan, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, has said in relation to America removing Khartoum from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

In an interview with the Egyptian newspaper Al-Shorouk, Al-Burhan stated that removing Sudan’s listing on the terrorism list “is an obstacle that must be removed, in order to delve into cooperation prospects. We should make good use of our tools and capabilities that the US needs, and we can exploit them better.”

The Sudanese official continued: “The US is not a charity that donates money without expecting anything in return. We only have to market our country and its resources in a better way, while emphasising what Washington can gain, and what we can benefit.”

“We do not want in any way to be the recipients of charity. Sudan has a clean land, pure water, and a unique geographical location. Sudan is the heart of the world, and has an abundance of natural resources and animal wealth, in addition to a rich human capital and climate diversity.”

Gains from normalisation

Regarding Sudan’s gains from signing a normalisation agreement with Israel, Al-Burhan asserted: “The right question to ask is how rivalry with a UN state member, which the international community recognised regardless of the circumstances of its establishment, ever benefited or will benefit Sudan?”

Al-Burhan continued: “We still have to discover areas of interest and prospects for cooperation [with Israel] like any other country in the world. Sudan has attempted to reconcile with a country to which it was previously hostile, which is normal.”

He denied reports that normalisation was a prerequisite to the US removing Sudan from the terrorism list saying: “I do not see a link between the normalisation file and what I have been talking about. The issue concerns Israel and not the US.”

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