A Sudanese delegation is currently in Israel to negotiate the normalization of relations between Khartoum and Tel Aviv.
According to Israeli Kan radio, a representative of the current Sudanese military government has made a secret visit to Israel in recent hours. A representative who would seek “to advance relations between the two countries”. Several sources mention a trip ofAbdel Fattah al-Burhan, the strong man of Sudan.
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According to a familiar off source from Sudan, Burhan is passing through Israel.— Laura-Mai Gaveriaux (@lmgaveriaux) February 9, 2022
The Sudanese general's trip had already been mentioned by Israeli radio a month ago.
According to another Israeli media, i24, there is talk of a simple "Sudanese emissary", sent by the presidency, who went to Israel to promote ties between the two countries. Neither the Israeli government nor that of Sudan confirmed the information.
But this secret trip seems logical: Sudan signed the Abraham Accords at the end of 2020, providing for the normalization of relations with Israel. However, these agreements have not yet been ratified by Sudan, and therefore cannot come into force.
In November 2021, then last January, several Israeli delegations came to Sudan. But Khartoum is trying to keep contacts with Israel as discreet as possible. Especially since the coup.
A security cooperation in sight?
On the side of Abdel Fatah al-Burhan, normalization with Israel is “necessary to make Sudan more credible in the eyes of the international community”. In 2020, Sudan had negotiated the signing of the Abraham Accords against removal from the American list of organizations financing terrorism. Khartoum was then again able to negotiate international loans and was able to avoid economic sanctions.
If Sudan has often been opposed to Israel, notably organizing an Arab summit a few weeks after the Six Day War, in 1967, castigating the Jewish state, the context has changed since 2020.
At the end of last year, Yossi Melman, a specialist in Israeli security and intelligence, estimated that “Israel sees the Burhan coup as an opportunity to strengthen ties with Sudan”. According to him, Burhan had been very interested in a proposal from Yossi Cohen, former director of the Mossad, who had offered generals and heads of intelligence services aid, particularly in terms of know-how, technologies and equipment. .