Germany Pledges to Support Sudan
Arab World
Khartoum – Ahmed Younis and Mohammed Amin Yassin
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has called on the international community to enable Sudan to deal with international funding institutions, asserting that those who are currently in power are not responsible for the problems caused by the former regime of Omar al-Bashir. The German President arrived in Khartoum on Thursday in the first visit of a top European official to the country in decades. Following talks with the President of the Transitional Sovereign Council, Lieutenant General Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan at the Republican Palace in Khartoum, Steinmeier said the German Parliament voted this month on lifting the economic embargo on Sudan in order to develop relations between the two countries. "We support the process of political change and know that there are difficulties in this path,” he said. The President said the recent visits of the German foreign and development cooperation ministers to Sudan came to affirm Berlin's willingness to support Sudan, especially in vocational and technical training. Burhan said that justice must be done and those who caused economic and political problems in Sudan and isolated it from the world would be held accountable. Later, at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, Steinmeir affirmed German commitment to work together with the Friends of Sudan group to remove barriers for cooperation with international financial institutions. The German President revealed there was a possibility for German companies to resume investments in Sudan, affirming his country's readiness to implement the agreement between the German Ministry of Development Cooperation and Sudan by providing 80 million euros for vocational training and the creation of job opportunities. He stressed the need to act quickly to ensure Sudan’s access for loans from international funds. Hamdok said his meeting with the German President tackled writing off Sudan's foreign debt, which faces the obstacle of US sanctions imposed on Sudan. The PM noted that the sanctions are a 30-year legacy of the defunct regime, saying Germany's pioneering role in Europe and its close relations with the international community would help Sudan address the issue. Steinmeier said his current visit to Sudan was a hint for European leaders to consider changes taking place in Sudan and to support Sudanese efforts in the transition process. The German President will conclude his two-day official visit to Sudan on Friday after visiting the Control Center of the Sudan Company for Electricity.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2153756/germany-pledges-support-sudan
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