Foreign relations of Sudan

The foreign relations of Sudan are generally in line with the Muslim Arab world, but are also based on Sudan's economic ties with the People's Republic of China and Western Europe.

Sudan's administrative boundary with Kenya does not coincide with international boundary, and Egypt asserts its claim to the "Hala'ib Triangle", a barren area of 20,580 km² under partial Sudanese administration that is defined by an administrative boundary which supersedes the treaty boundary of 1899.

Solidarity with other Arab countries has been a feature of Sudan’s foreign policy. When the Arab-Israeli war began in June 1967, Sudan declared war on Israel. However, in the early 1970s, Sudan gradually shifted its stance and was supportive of the Camp David Accords. Sudan also maintains strong and friendly relations with Asian countries such as the People's Republic of China, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and North and South Korea, and with European countries such as Russia, Germany, Belarus, Greece, and Romania.

Relations between Sudan and Libya deteriorated in the early 1970s and reached a low in October 1981, when Libya began a policy of crossborder raids into western Sudan. After the 1989 coup d'état, the military government resumed diplomatic relations with Libya, as part of a policy of improving relations with neighboring Arab states. In early 1990, Libya and the Sudan announced that they would seek “unity.” This unity was never implemented.

During the 1990s, Sudan sought to steer a nonaligned course, courting Western aid and seeking rapprochement with Arab states, while maintaining cooperative ties with Libya, Syria, North Korea, Iran, and Iraq. Sudan’s support for regional insurgencies such as Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Eritrean Islamic Jihad, Ethiopian Islamic Jihad, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Lord's Resistance Army generated great concern about their contribution to regional instability. Allegations of the government’s complicity in the assassination attempt against the Egyptian president in Ethiopia in 1995 led to UN Security Council sanctions against the Sudan. By the late 1990s, Sudan experienced strained or broken diplomatic relations with most of its nine neighboring countries.

On November 3, 1997, the U.S. government imposed a trade embargo against Sudan and a total asset freeze against the Government of Sudan under Executive Order 13067. The U.S. believed the Government of Sudan gave support to international terrorism, destabilized neighboring governments, and permitted human rights violations, creating an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. [ [http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/programs/sudan/sudan.shtml U.S. Treasury - Sudan sanctions] ] .

Since 2000, Sudan has actively sought regional rapprochement that has rehabilitated most of these regional relations. Joint Ministerial Councils have been set up between Sudan and Ethiopia and Sudan and Egypt. Relations with Chad have remained strong in spite of the influx of Sudanese refugees into Chad due to the Darfur crisis. Relations with Uganda are also good in spite of the death of former Vice-President Dr John Garang de Mabior whilst on a Ugandan Presidential Helicopter.

On December 23, 2005 Chad, Sudan's neighbor to the west, declared a 'state of belligerency' with Sudan and accused the country of being the "common enemy of the nation (Chad)." This happened after the December 18 attack on Adré, which left about 100 people dead. A statement issued by Chadian government on December 23, accused Sudanese militias of making daily incursions into Chad, stealing cattle, killing innocent people and burning villages on the Chadian border. The statement went on to call for Chadians to form a patriotic front against Sudan [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4556576.stm Chad in 'state of war' with Sudan] ] . On May 11, 2008 Sudan announced it was cutting diplomatic relations with Chad, claiming that it was helping rebels in Darfur to attack the Sudanese capital Khartoum [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7394422.stm Sudan cuts Chad ties over attack] ] . "(See also: Chadian-Sudanese conflict)"

On June 3, 2008, US - Sudan normalization talks broke down over the issue of conflicts in the oil-producing central region of Abyei [ [http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-sudan-conflict.html U.S. Suspends Talks With Sudan Over Oil Town Row] ] .

Sudan is one of the states that recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. [http://www.moroccotimes.com/paper/article.asp?idr=2&id=11765]

ee also

*Diplomatic missions of Sudan
*List of diplomatic missions in Sudan
*Sudanese-Pakistani relations

References

External Links

* [http://www.pca-cpa.org/showpage.asp?pag_id=1306 North/South Sudan Abyei] and [http://www.pca-cpa.org/shownews.asp?ac=view&nws_id=211&pag_id=1261 News] and [http://www.pca-cpa.org/shownews.asp?ac=view&pag_id=1261&nws_id=212 11 July 2008] and [http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article28587 UN SRSG for Sudan Praises Abyei Progress of 11 September 2008]

Chadian-Sudanese conflict