Sudan's Foreign Minister protests against a military delegation's visit to Israel
A senior Sudanese source told Al-Sharq that Foreign Minister Maryam Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi formally protested to the President of the Transitional Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, about the secret visit made by a security and military delegation to Israel, because she was not aware of it.
Maryam Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi
Foreign Minister Maryam Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi
Sudanese diplomatic sources had revealed to Al-Sharq, on Friday, that a Sudanese military and security delegation had arrived in Israel on a secret visit, without disclosing the reasons for the visit.
The sources indicated that the delegation is headed by the second commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Lieutenant-General Abdel Rahim Hamdan Dagalo "Hemedti", and includes Lieutenant-General Mirghani Idris Suleiman, director of the defense industries system.
And on Saturday, the senior Sudanese source told Al-Sharq that the delegation ended its visit to Israel and went to one of the Arab countries, without specifying it.
He stated that the delegation did not get any commitments from the Israeli side regarding security and military cooperation.
The source pointed out that the US administration expressed its reservations to the government and the Sovereign Council in Sudan regarding the visit of the second commander of the Rapid Support Forces to Israel.
The visit comes amid a political crisis between the military component of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council and parties in the civilian transitional government, after a failed military coup on September 21, which led to the suspension of joint meetings, especially at the level of the interim parliament.
And last month, Sudanese diplomatic sources revealed to Al-Sharq that Sudan is preparing to sign an agreement to normalize relations with Israel during the month of October, at the White House, but consultations were still ongoing to choose the personalities who would participate in the signing ceremony.
The sources said on that day that "consultations are still ongoing to choose the personalities who will participate in the signing ceremony, as the presence of the Chairman of the Transitional Sovereign Council, Lieutenant-General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok, and US President Joe Biden is expected," considering that the participation of Al-Burhan and Hamdok gives positive signals. That “the ruling partners in Sudan are in agreement regarding the normalization process.”
The United States officially removed Sudan from its list of "sponsors of terrorism" on December 14, in exchange for normalizing its relations with Israel.
Sudan agreed to the move in October 2020, but said it "will not enter into force until after the approval of the parliament," which has not yet been formed.
Foreign Minister Maryam Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi belongs to the nationalist Umma Party, which rejects the establishment of relations with Israel, and considers them to contradict the supreme national interest and the popular position.
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