23 Sep 2020; MEMO: The Sudanese Minister of Information and transitional government spokesman, Faisal Muhammad Saleh, yesterday denied media reports claiming a Sudanese delegation currently visiting the United Arab Emirates had discussed normalising relations with Israel.
“The ministerial delegation accompanying the head of the Transitional Sovereignty Council [Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan] does not have the mandate to discuss normalising relations with Israel,” the minister told reporters, adding that Sudan’s position regarding normalisation with Israel has not changed.
“We do not have the mandate to take decisions in such matters, which are among the tasks of an elected government, and we are still at the same position,” he added.
Earlier this week, US Axios news site reported that representatives of Sudan, the UAE and the US will hold a meeting in Abu Dhabi to discuss a possible normalisation deal between Tel Aviv and Khartoum.
According to the report, in return for normalising relations with Tel Aviv, Sudan has asked to be removed from the State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism as well as food shipments worth $1.2 billion, a $2 billion grant or a 25-year loan to the government, and a commitment to provide economic aid from the UAE and the US.
