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Sudan eyes full normalization of ties with U.S.

Xinhua, January 15, 2017 Adjust font size:

The Sudanese top diplomat said Saturday that his country expected full normalization of relations between Sudan and the U.S. after the latter lifted part of economic sanctions imposed on Sudan.

"The U.S. decision on lifting the economic sanctions on Sudan came as a result of a comprehensive dialogue that has continued for about two years," said Ibrahim Ghandour, Sudan's foreign minister, at a press conference in the capital Khartoum.

"We reiterate our full commitment to cooperate with the new U.S. administration," he said. "We expect America to be committed too."

Ghandour stressed the importance of the U.S. decision to lift sanctions on Sudan, saying "these decisions will remove all the barriers which have been crippling the flow of investments to Sudan."

On Friday, the outgoing U.S. President Barack Obama issued a decision to cancel two executive orders imposing economic sanctions on Sudan.

In response, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry praised the decision as "a fruit of a close cooperation between the two countries in international and regional issues of mutual concern."

The United States has been imposing sanctions on Sudan since 1997 and putting it on its list of countries sponsoring terrorism since 1993.

Since then, Washington has been renewing its sanctions on Sudan due to the continuing war in Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan regions, in addition to a number of outstanding issues with South Sudan such as the territorial dispute over the oil-rich Abyei area.

In Feb. 2015, however, the U.S. announced its decision to loosen sanctions on Sudan by allowing exports of personal communications hardware and software including smart phones and laptops, in what it said a move to help the Sudanese integrate into the global digital community.

According to economic reports, Sudan's losses due to the U.S. sanctions amount to more than 4 billion U.S. dollars annually.

Moreover, 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