Sudan PM seeks end to country's pariah status скачать в хорошем качестве

Sudan PM seeks end to country's pariah status

(25 Aug 2019) Sudan's new prime minister said in an interview Sunday that ending his country's international pariah status and drastically cutting military spending are prerequisites for rescuing its faltering economy. Abdalla Hamdok, a respected former official with the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa, told The Associated Press that he has already talked to U.S. officials about removing Sudan from Washington's list of countries sponsoring terrorism, and portrayed their reaction as positive. He also hopes to drastically cut Sudan's military spending, which he said takes up as much as 80% of the state budget. Sudan stagnated for three decades under former President Omar al-Bashir, convulsed by a bloody civil war and rebellions in its far-flung provinces. Al-Bashir's autocratic rule ended in April when the military ousted him after mass street protests by a pro-democracy movement, which began late last year. As Sudan begins a new chapter, getting off America's state sponsor of terror list is the "key to anything that we can do in this country," Hamdok said, adding that a "democratic Sudan is not a threat to anybody in the world." Still, tensions between the military and civilians are expected to feature prominently in Hamdok's unruly transitional government, which is expected to have three years in power before the general elections are held. Some experts have said Hamdok faces an uphill battle to carry out such ambitious economic reforms. Although Hamdok heads the transitional Cabinet, the military leaders that ousted al-Bashir still want a major role in the transition period. Sudan's top general, Abdel-Fattah Burhan, was sworn in Wednesday as the leader of a joint military-civilian Sovereign Council. Five of its 11 members are from the military. The United States named Sudan a state sponsor of terror in 1993, and the designation stuck through the al-Bashir regime. As one of the last acts of the Obama administration, the United States began a formal process to de-list Sudan in January 2017, but this was put on hold when mass protests began in December. Moves to de-list Sudan could resume once the country's political situation has stabilized. The U.S. State Department was not immediately available for comment Sunday. "We appreciate and understand that there is a process, both I think in government and Congress," Hamdok said, adding he hopes it happens soon because "it has very serious implications on our situation." Removing Sudan from the state sponsor of terror list will allow the country to receive a sorely needed International Monetary Fund and World Bank bailout package, Hamdok said. Sudan is nearly 60 billion US dollars in debt, and Hamdok said the interest on the debt payments is roughly 3 billion US dollars. He said his aim is economic stability and a properly managed currency, along with transparency and opportunities for foreign investors. Asked if the military budget should be smaller, Hamdok said: "Absolutely. We would like to see the Ministry of Finance and the central bank control the budget." Hamdok said ending the country's rebellions would allow him to allocate no more than 20% of the budget to the military, saying "the rest of it should go to development issues — addressing issues of health, education and infrastructure development and reviving the economy." Sudan also is one of the world's most corrupt nations. It is ranked 175th out of 180 countries in Transparency International's 2017 Corruption Perceptions Index. "In the past there were no intentions from both sides, the government and the armed groups, to reach an agreement," he said. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...