What policy this man wants to impliment.

Lawmakers question effectiveness of Sudan’s foreign policy

November 27, 2013 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese foreign minister Ali Karti was grilled on Wednesday by members of the national assembly over the country’s policy in dealing with Arab, regional and international community.

MP Mohamed Sideeg directed explicit criticism at Karti accusing him of failing to normalize relations with the United States and questioned how Karti with his background as ex-head of the paramilitary Popular Defense Forces (PDF) could end up becoming Sudan’s top diplomat.

Sideeg described Karti as someone who moved from a blue collar role to wearing fine suits and ties.

The lawmaker stressed that he has nothing personal against Karti but noted that the US does not have "political amnesia" in reference to the role Karti played as PDF chief during the civil war with the south.

A visibly angry Karti responded by advising Sideeg to submit a memo with his grievances to president Omer Hassan al-Bashir saying that he never sought this post or any other but was picked to fill it.

He also accused certain circles within the government of undermining the work of his ministry and alluded to Sudan’s decision since 2009 of expelling more than a dozen aid agencies in response to the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant issued for Bashir.

Karti said that it was his view that these humanitarian groups should have been contained and put to optimal use rather than having them ejected from the country thus harming Sudan’s relations with the international community.

The parliament was divided over Sudan’s stance on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict with some saying that Khartoum cannot be passionate about this issue more than the people concerned and pay the price for that.

But the majority of parliamentarians raised their voices with cheers and chants calling for maintaining the pro-Palestinian line and ignoring the tense relations with Washington.

Karti said while the government must stick to its principles including those with regards to the Palestinian issue, they must reach out to Americans and Europeans.

"If the role of the foreign ministry is to scream and weep over adhering to principles and sticking to them any party can do that," he said.

The minister disclosed that around 20 US companies expressed their interest in investing in Sudan during a meeting which took place in Washington that was arranged by the Sudanese embassy there and approved by the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) which enforces sanctions.

The main obstacle for these companies he said, was how they can wire money to Sudan given the sanctions but they agreed to carry it through a third party.

Sudan has been under the US blacklist of states sponsoring terrorism since 1993 on allegations of harboring Islamist militants despite reports of Sudan being a cooperative intelligence partner of Washington in the "war on terror".

Sudan is also subject to comprehensive economic sanctions since 1997 over terrorism charges as well as human right abuses. Further sanctions, particularly on weapons, have been imposed since the 2003 outbreak of violence in the western Darfur region.

Despite relentless efforts by Khartoum to normlaize ties, Washington kept renewing sanctions though in recent years have slightly eased them on certain sectors including agriculture.

Karti also acknowledged the existence of a border violations from all directions especially Ethiopia and Chad but noted that they are individual incidents and not condoned by these states which requires better coordination with them.

He revealed that work is underway to demarcate the borders with Ethiopia that will include all but three areas.

When asked about the tense relations with Arab Gulf states, Karti asked for a classified session to discuss it saying it will contain "sensitive" information that cannot be shared with the media.

MP Abdullah Masar blasted ties with Iran saying that the latter is "ungenerous" calling for limiting relations with it.

Shiite power Iran sees the pre-dominantly Sunni Gulf as its own backyard and believes it has a legitimate interest in expanding its influence there. Arab Gulf states say that Iran is stoking tensions by inciting Shiite populations in Bahrain.

Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have privately expressed their unhappiness about Khartoum’s growing relations with Tehran.

Iranian warships, which regularly patrol the Red Sea, docked three times in Port Sudan since last year.

This may explain why the Saudi government for instance has been reluctant to assist Khartoum financially after the secession of the oil-rich south despite pleas by Sudanese officials including president Bashir.

Furthermore, Bashir has not been able to hold bilateral talks with any senior Saudi official since March 2012 despite repeated non-official visits to Riyadh .

Gulf states are among the biggest investors in the country and have funded a large sugar plant and Sudan’s only shopping mall. Diplomats told Reuters last year that Sudan’s central bank has toured the Gulf several times, trying to drum up support for more funding.

(ST)