Sudan and the United States signed an agreement to restore the African country's sovereign immunity in Washington late Friday, while the US announced providing $60 million worth of aid for Sudan. According to Sudan News Agency (SUNA) the agreement included settling terrorism cases against Sudan and previous cases demanding the country to pay compensations worth $10 billion for victims of terrorist attacks. Sudan said in a statement the agreement would settle cases brought against Sudan in US courts, including for the bombing of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, for which Sudan has agreed to pay $335 million to victims. The agreement is part of the US pledge to remove Sudan from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, dating back to toppled President Omar Al-Bashir, who Washington believed was supporting militant groups. President Donald Trump said this month that the United States would remove Sudan from the list as soon as Khartoum set aside the $335 million it has agreed to pay to American victims of militant attacks and their families. To avoid new lawsuits, Sudan needed its sovereign immunity restored, which it lost as a designated sponsor of terrorism. The designation makes it difficult for its transitional government to access urgently needed debt relief and foreign financing as it fights an economic crisis. The decision was signed by President Trump on Oct. 23 and will come into effect after 45 days, if not opposed by the Congress. Sudan was listed in a terror-supporting countries since 1993. Sudan has agreed to normalize ties with Israel, making Khartoum the third Arab government after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to establish relations with Israel in the last two months. — Agencies
