Sudan signs energy contract with US firm

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) - The Sudanese government signed an agreement in the field of electric power generating with the US company of General Electric, the first deal signed with a US company for the last three decades.

The Sudanese New Agency (SUNA) quoted the country's Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok after the signing of the agreement in the capital Khartoum saying that Sudan did not see any cooperation with important firms for 30 years.

"We witness today a new dawn of effective partnership that could help in pushing the Sudanese economic wheel," Hamdok said.

Sudan was under US-led international sanctions during the rule of ousted President Omar Al-Bashir in which Sudan's economy was isolated from the world economies.

The power crisis in Sudan is one of the most living difficulties in Sudan and was one of the reasons that pushed the people into the streets in protest of the general economic deterioration.

The new agreement aims to reduce the challenges in the Sudanese power electric field and to raise the power generation.

According to SUNA, the agreement will contribute to generating 470-megawatt electricity, benefiting around 600,000 Sudanese homes.

The US charge d'affaires in Sudan Brian Shukan said the agreement is a milestone in the relation between the Sudanese government and General Electric.

Despite removing economic sanctions on Sudan in 2018, the US still keeps the country on its list of states sponsoring terrorism.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara.