Sudan’s Burhan: Abraham Accords Stemmed from our Belief in Tolerance, Coexistence

The head of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council, Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan, said his government signed the Abraham Accords with the United States and Israel out of its conviction of the importance of spreading the values of tolerance and coexistence among peoples of all religions and ethnicities.

Burhan was addressing, via video conference, a youth summit in Israel.

Sudan signed the Abraham Accords based on its sincere effort to affirm and establish the values of peace, tolerance and peaceful coexistence, respect for freedoms and religions, and acceptance of others, he stated.

Israeli students organized the Israel Summit – an international movement devoted to discussion on university campuses between Israel and students and youth of the world, with the participation of international speakers. The event – sponsored by the renowned Harvard and Columbia Universities – also features professional exhibitions and opportunities for academic exchange, and aims to expand students’ horizons in Israel.

This year’s summit, which was held on Feb. 7-11, was attended by a number of political figures, including Burhan, President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili, former presidents, a number of US Senate members, scientists and university professors, most notably the CEO of Moderna, the maker of the Covid-19 vaccine.

For the first time in Sudan’s history, Sudanese students and youth participated in such an Israeli gathering, along with their peers from other Arab and Islamic countries.

Burhan urged the Sudanese youth participating in the summit to convey their country’s “vision to spread peace and prosperity on the planet.”

He added: “Our vision is to follow the path of global tolerance, establish concepts of world peace, and contribute to the global and local renaissance, through exchanging experiences with the countries of the region and friendly countries.”

In early January, Sudan signed the Abraham Accords normalizing ties with Israel, alongside an aid agreement promising $1 billion annual World Bank financing during an unprecedented visit by the US treasury chief.

The deals were signed less than a month after Washington removed Khartoum from its state sponsors of terrorism blacklist, a move which followed Sudan’s agreement to normalize ties with Israel in October.