Sudan govt says ‘not aware’ of Israeli delegation visit

Sudan was the third Arab country this year to announce a normalization deal with Israel, after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. (File/AFP)

• A senior Israeli official said on Monday the Jewish state had sent a delegation to Sudan
• The Israel-Sudan pact has yet to be formally signed

KHARTOUM: Sudan’s government on Tuesday denied having information about the visit of an Israeli delegation to Khartoum announced the day before by an official from Tel Aviv.
“The cabinet is not aware of an Israeli delegation and we have no confirmation that this visit took place,” government spokesman Faisal Mohammed Saleh told AFP.
“We also have no information on a Sudanese delegation visiting Israel.”
On Monday, a senior Israeli official said the state had sent a delegation to Sudan — the first such visit since last month’s announcement of an agreement to normalize relations between the two countries.
Israeli army radio also reported Monday that a trip was underway.
The Israel-Sudan pact has yet to be formally signed.
“We have a pre-existing deal that normalization with Israel should be approved by the transitional parliament,” said Saleh.
Prior to that, “there should not be any form of communication with Israel,” he added.
Sudan has yet to form a parliament since the April 2019 ouster of former president Omar Al-Bashir following mass protests against his rule.
The country has embarked on a rocky transitional period that saw the post-Bashir government seeking to turn the page on its status as an international pariah.
Sudan was the third Arab country this year to announce a normalization deal with Israel, after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.