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History will remember that one of the last foreseeable acts of the Trump administration took place in Sudan, a country which, until December 14, 2020, was still on the American list of states supporting terrorism. On Wednesday January 6, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin signed two texts with the transitional authorities in Khartoum, paving the way for important agreements. The first, initialed by the Sudanese Minister of the Economy, Hiba Ahmed, paves the way for an American loan of $ 1 billion (800 million euros) granted to Sudan, which, thanks to this facility, will be able to repay part of its unpaid bills with international financial institutions (the country owes the World Bank 1.6 billion dollars, out of a total debt estimated by the Prime Minister, Abdallah Hamdok, at about 60 billion), in order to have access, again, to loans to start the rescue of its economy. “This initiative will allow Sudan to once again have access to more than $ 1 billion in annual financing from the World Bank for the first time in twenty-seven years,” according to a statement from the Sudanese ministry.
The second text is a solemn version of Sudan’s commitment to normalize relations with Israel. Following numerous pressures, Khartoum formalizes its wish to join the signatory countries of the Abrahamic accords, already signed by the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The two documents are not linked by the effect of chance, but by a cause and effect relationship. The two processes have been brought closer together since the beginning of the very proactive involvement of the Trump administration in this matter. In essence, Sudan was offered to be removed from the list of states supporting terrorism where it had been placed in 1993 (with the main effect of globally banning international dollar transactions with Khartoum) in exchange for a sesame to normalize relations with international institutions. In passing, Sudan has pledged to pay a sum intended to finance compensation for victims of terrorist acts, for an amount of 335 million dollars, the origin of which has not been made public. Sources mention a loan, or a donation, from the United Arab Emirates.
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