UK Foreign Minister Dominic Raab visits Sudan

UK Foreign Minister Dominic Raab visits Sudan
Raab met with Sudan's civilian and military leaders to discuss the country's ongoing democratic transition and other issues.
2 min read
21 January, 2021
It is the first visit by a senior British official to Sudan since 2008 [Twitter]
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab became the first senior British official to visit Sudan in more than a decade on Thursday.

Raab spoke with the country's military and civilian leaders in what appeared to be seperate meetings in the capital Khartoum.

The visit comes nearly two years after the military overthrow of former dictator Omar al-Bashir following months of mass protests.

Since September 2019, power has been shared between the military and civilains in a fragile and often criticised arrangement.

In a meeting with Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, Finance Minister Hiba Mohamed and Foreign Minister Omar Gamereldin, Raab expressed the United Kingdom's "support for Sudan's peaceful transition to democracy", he said on Twitter.

The British foreign secretary also met with General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the leader of Sudan's sovereign council.

The two discussed "progress in delivering key reforms including economic reform, the democratic transition and cooperation with the ICC", Raab said.

Sudan has promised to cooperate with the Internatioanl Criminal Court, where Bashir and several other former officials face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

Despite that pledge last year, the former president and three other wanted Sudanese remain jailed in Sudan.

Ali Kushayb, a former Janjaweed militia leader, surrendered himself to the court last year. Another indictee, rebel commander Abdallah Banda, remains a fugitive.

Raab also plans to meet with Justice Minister Nasreddin Abdel Bari, the embassy said in a statement.

The British foreign secretary will also meet with an investigative committee probing the killing of more than 120 protesters in June 2019.

Raab's visit is the first by a senior British official to Sudan since 2008, when then-Foreign Secretary David Miliband traveled to Khartoum.

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