Sudan asks U.S. to lift economic sanctions

The Sudanese government on Monday called on the United States to lift its economic sanctions imposed on the country since 1997.

Sudanese Foreign Ministry's Under Secretary Abdul-Ghani Al-Naeem made this request in a meeting with U.S. Charge d'Affaires in Khartoum Steven Koutsis.

"The sanctions have harmed the Sudanese people and negatively affected the different aspects of life, namely in fields of health, food security, humanitarian affairs, completion of peace and realization of development in the country," Al-Naeem said in a press release.

Last week, U.S. President Barack Obama announced the extension of economic sanctions on Sudan for another year, saying actions and policies of the Sudanese government continued to pose a threat to the U.S. security and foreign policy.

The United States started to impose sanctions on Sudan in 1997 and has been listing it one of the countries sponsoring terrorism.

Since then, Washington has been renewing its sanctions due to the continuing war in Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan regions in addition to a number of outstanding issues between Sudan and South Sudan.

Sudan's losses due to the U.S. sanctions reportedly amount to over 4 billion U.S. dollars annually.

Sudan has been witnessing an escalating economic crisis since the secession of South Sudan in 2011, as the country has lost about 70 percent of its oil revenues. Endit