Sudan Expected to Normalise Ties with Israel After Western-Backed Coup Forces Political Realignment

Sudan and Israel are reportedly holding direct talks with the purpose of establishing diplomatic relations, according to a recent statement by member of the Israeli high level security cabinet Ze'ev Elkin. This comes after the government of Omar Al Bashir, a long standing Israeli and Western adversary in East Africa, was overthrown in a Western-backed coup in April 2019 - paving the way for the installation of a strongly pro-Western regime in the country. Israel, the U.S. and France had previously launched airstrikes and missile strikes on Sudanese territory on separate occasions, with Israeli strikes targeting armaments supplies which were allegedly being sold to Palestinian jihadist militants which govern the Gaza Strip. Sudan had been a leading recipient of Chinese investment in Africa for over thirty years, and had formed close defence ties with Russia, Belarus, North Korea and Iran and established a formidable defence industry of its own primarily for export purposes. 

The Sudanese economy has seen a sharp deterioration since the Bashir government’s overthrow, facing extreme levels of inflation and a sharp contraction in GDP due to severe economic mismanagement under the new transitional government. The imposition of a change in government by military coup has portended not only a near total collapse of the Sudanese economy, but also a major geopolitical shift with the country now locked firmly into the Western sphere of influence. European states in particular are looking to make major economic gains from the resource rich nation. Sudan’s new government has agreed to pay compensation to the United States military for its predecessor’s alleged support for islamist militant attacks on American military personnel during the 1990s, and has come under considerable Western pressure to make major economic reforms. It is widely speculated that forming ties with Israel has come as a result of the broader Western pressure campaign against the country, with the United States in particular seeking to boost the Israeli diplomatic presence in the Arab world after successful breakthroughs with Bahrain and the Untied Arab Emirates earlier in September.