Off the wire
• Contact Group on Ukraine welcomes resumption of water, electricity supply  • Chinese scientists reveal why giant pandas and red pandas evolve to eat bamboo  • China, Egypt sign MoUs to boost digital, environmental cooperation  • Spotlight: European Parliament to vote for new president  • Police probing disappearance of Brazilian Serie A coach  • Massa to return to F1 with Williams  • Brazilian striker Marinho set to join Changchun Yatai - reports  • Ghana Black Stars charged to win AFCON trophy  • Irish property prices up 8.6 pct in year to November  • Pop icon Cilla Black remembered outside British famous Cavern Club  
You are here: 　 Home

U.S. diplomat says decision easing sanctions on Sudan to be in effect

Xinhua, January 17, 2017 Adjust font size:

A United States diplomat on Monday said his country's decision to ease sanctions on Sudan would go into effect as of Tuesday.

"Decisions of President Barack Obama lifting the U.S. trade sanctions on Sudan are immediate and will technically go into effect as of Tuesday," Steven Koutsis, U.S. Embassy Chargé d'Affaires in Khartoum, told reporters.

He said the decision to ease the sanctions was based on the executive order by Obama, the general licence and the decision of the Department of Commerce.

The U.S. diplomat further explained that the Sudanese government has become in partnership with America in the field of counter-terrorism.

He noted that the American decision would enable Sudan to use its deposits in the U.S. banks and conclude contracts and investment projects in fields of oil and minerals, pointing out that the decisions would open the way for cooperation and promotion of ties between Khartoum and Washington.

On Jan. 13, Obama issued a decision canceling two executive orders imposing economic sanctions on Sudan.

The U.S. 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 besides a number of disputed issues with South Sudan, including the oil-rich area of Abyei.

However, in February last year, the U.S. Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced that it had decided to loosen the sanctions on Sudan via allowing exports of personal communications hardware and software including smart phones and laptops.

It said the move aimed at helping the Sudanese citizens integrate into the global digital community.

In October 2015, Washington also expressed readiness to cooperate with Sudan in the field of counter-terrorism and to work to prevent flow of terrorist groups and foreign fighters to Sudan and the areas of conflicts. Endit