Israel, Sudan to sign deal to normalize ties: FM

Khartoum, Sudan | Xinhua | Israel and Sudan have agreed to sign a deal to normalize ties later in 2023, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said Thursday after returning from what his office calls a “historic” visit to Khartoum.

Cohen told a press conference upon his return that he met with Sudan’s ruling general Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and other senior officials during his visit, according to a statement by the Israeli foreign ministry.

Al-Burhan, the chairman of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council, has served as the de facto ruler of the country since he led a military coup in October 2021.

“Today’s visit to Sudan lays the foundations for a historic peace agreement with a strategic Arab and Muslim country,” Cohen said, adding the proposed deal would “promote regional stability and contribute to the national security of the State of Israel.”

In a separate statement, Sudan’s Sovereignty Council said the talks were held with the goal of establishing “fruitful relations with Israel” and strengthening bilateral cooperation in security and military issues.

Sudan is set to become the fourth Muslim Arab nation to sign a normalization agreement with Israel as part of the Abraham Accords, a series of U.S.-brokered normalization deals Israel reached with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco to establish official relations in 2020.

Egypt and Jordan signed peace treaties with Israel in 1979 and 1994 respectively.

Sudan and Israel announced readiness to establish diplomatic ties in October 2020 but a final agreement has yet to be signed.