23 Nov 2021; MEMO: The United States has urged Sudan to make more progress before it resumes $700 million in emergency assistance it had halted following October's military coup that ousted the civilian-led contingent of the government, the State Department said.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday held separate talks with Sudan's army chief and coup leader, Abdul Fattah Al-Burhan, and Prime Minister, Abdullah Hamdok, a day after Sudan's military leaders accepted a deal to reinstate Hamdok as prime minister.
State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters that the decision on the financial aid will be "predicated entirely on what happens in the coming hours and the coming days and the coming weeks."
"[Restoring Hamdok to power] is the first step. It's not the last step. We must continue to see progress, we must continue to see Sudan move back down the democratic path, and that starts with the reinstitution of the prime minister but it certainly doesn't end there," he added.
Earlier on Sunday Blinken said he was "encouraged" by the deal.
Under the new deal, Hamdok will return to lead a technocratic government for a "transitional period" until elections can be held.
