Israel will send $5 million of wheat to Sudan after a deal agreeing to normalize relations
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office reported on Sunday that Israel will send $5 million worth of wheat to Sudan, just a few days after a declaration that the two parties have accepted to normalize relations.
Netanyahu’s office declared on Twitter: We are looking forward to a warm peace and are sending $5 million worth of wheat immediately to our new friends in Sudan,
Sudan has started a hard transition under a joint civilian-military administration since the April 2019 ouster of autocrat Omar al-Bashir, however it has suffered from severe economic problems, including a loud reduction of the Sudanese pound and increasing of consumer prices.
A rising of the bread price late in 2018 was the initial raison for street protests against Bashir that led to his removal. According to official figures, relying heavily on imports, the northeast African country consumes two million tonnes of wheat annually. Netanyahu said that Israel will be working closely with the USA to assist Sudan’s transition.
Indeed, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed an accord at the White House last month for normalizing relation with the Jewish state; however Sudan have added symbolism as an Arab nation that has been at war with Israel.
The news about the normalization accord between the two sides came on Friday, shortly after US President Donald Trump announced that Washington was formally moving to delete Sudan from a list as a state sponsor of terrorism, which is a designation that strangled Khartoum’s economy for decades. Actually, Sudan will be only the fifth Arab country to give value to the diplomatic ties with the Jewish state.
Netanyahu reported, in remarks at the start of a cabinet meeting Sunday: Soon an Israeli delegation will meet in Sudan with a Sudanese counterpart in order to discuss cooperation in many fields including migration, which we are discussing. We are expanding the circle of peace. Additional countries will yet join only if we consistently adhere to this policy.
This step to normalize relations has revealed deep societal divisions in Sudan, with a certain person calling it a betrayal and others viewing it as a way to save the perturbing economy
