Khartoum urges U.S to reconsider sanctions on Sudan

Sudan government on Sunday urged the United States to reconsider its unilateral sanctions on Sudan as they harm the interests of the Sudanese people and affect the country's economic situation, official SUNA news agency reported.

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour Steven Feldstein on Sunday started a visit to Sudan where he met Sudan's Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Abdalla Hamad Al-Azraq.

"The meeting discussed a number of issues of mutual concern and was characterized by frankness," SUNA quoted Al-Azraq as saying.

He said he told the American official that Sudan was happy with the partial lifting of the U.S. sanctions and that the sanctions were unjust measures that have harmed and still harming the Sudanese people.

"I told him we hope the remaining unilateral sanctions would be reconsidered as they affect the economic and political situations in the country," he noted.

Last week the United States Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that it had decided to loosen U.S. sanctions on Sudan via allowing exports of personal communications hardware and software including smart phones and laptops. Khartoum welcomed the move.

The Sudanese-American relations are currently witnessing signs of breakthrough as the two sides started exchanging visits by senior officials for dialogue to discuss many issues that prevented full normalization of bilateral relations.

The United States has been imposing sanctions on Sudan since 1997 and put it on its list of the countries sponsoring terrorism. Endit