Sudan Cabinet signs memo with US FBI on terrorism – White House stance remains resolute

At the end of last week, the Sudanese Cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding between the Sudanese Ministry of Interior and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on combating terrorism, crime and development of police cooperation. The signing comes days after US President Donald Trump's decision to extend the state of national emergency imposed on Sudan since 1997.

In a statement from the national capital of Khartoum, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the extension of the US State of Emergency as “inconsistent with the spirit of constructive cooperation between the two countries on many issues of common concern”.

The Foreign Ministry statement called on the US administration to justify this step and pointed out that it came for procedural and legal considerations of the US administration. It described the US classification of Sudan as contradictory, non- objective and unacceptable.

Presidential notice

A US presidential notice announced the continuation of the national emergency with respect to Sudan this week, in spite of a recent visit of a Sudanese delegation to Washington.

In the White House notice President Donald Trump explains why despite recent positive developments, the crisis constituted by the actions and policies of the Government of Sudan that led to the declaration of a national emergency in Executive Order 13067 in 1997, an expansion of that order in 2006, has not been resolved.

In November last year, President Trump also decided to continue the United States national emergency with respect to Sudan.

Read the full notice here.