The first United States ambassador to Sudan for 25 years took office on Wednesday (August 24th) in the Northeast African country, a new sign of relaxation in bilateral relations since Washington removed Khartoum from its list of states supporting terrorism.
The ties had deteriorated markedly under the reign of President Omar al-Bashir, ousted after three decades, Washington having imposed draconian economic sanctions on Khartoum.
Security and economic troubles
In 1993, the United States placed Sudan on the blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism, after the regime of Omar al-Bashir received the founder of the Al-Qaeda group, Osama bin Laden, who resided in the country from 1992 to 1996.”Ambassador John Godfrey arrived in Khartoum today, the first US Ambassador to Sudan in nearly 25 years“, said the US Embassy in a statement.
John Godfrey”will work to strengthen the relationship between the American and Sudanese peoples and support their aspirations for freedom, peace, justice and a transition to democracy“, adds the press release. John Godfrey’s arrival comes as Sudan faces security unrest and a plummeting economy since the October 2021 coup by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhane. The putsch upset a fragile transition put in place after the ousting of Omar al-Bashir in 2019.
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Relations between Sudan and the United States have softened under the now ousted transitional government in Khartoum, led by former prime minister Abdallah Hamdok, who took office after the departure of Omar al-Bashir in following demonstrations against his regime. In December 2019, following a visit by Abdallah Hamdok to Washington, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the United States would again appoint an ambassador to Khartoum. Then, in May 2020, Sudan appointed an ambassador to the United States before Washington removed Khartoum from its list of countries supporting terrorism a few months later.