KHARTOUM – Israel and Sudan have finalised a deal to normalize relations, the Israeli foreign ministry said.
Sudan’s foreign ministry earlier said the deal was agreed during a visit by Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen to “move forward towards normalizing relations between the two countries.”
After generations of non-recognition, Sudan pledged to take steps towards diplomatic ties with Israel as part of a 2020 deal brokered by then-US President Donald Trump’s administration, alongside normalization deals between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco known as the “Abraham Accords.”
Cohen’s visit to Khartoum was the first by an Israeli official acknowledged by Sudanese authorities, though there had been a series of exchanges by officials in recent years.
“During the visit, which was made with the consent of the United States, the parties finalized the text of the agreement,” an Israeli foreign ministry statement said according to Reuters.
“The signing ceremony is expected to take place after the transfer of power in Sudan to a civilian government that will be established as part of the ongoing transition process in the country,” it added.
“We definitely look forward to signing the agreement and then to having diplomatic representatives both in Israel and in Sudan,” Lior Haiat, spokesperson for the foreign ministry who took part in the delegation, told Reuters.
Cohen and Sudan’s ruling Sovereign Council chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, discussed deepening cooperation in security and military matters as well as agriculture, energy, health, water and education, Burhan’s office said.
