Sudan announced Wednesday that it has officially joined the Abraham Accords, the U.S.-sponsored treaty signed by the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain normalizing relations with Israel.
The African nation’s intentions to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel was announced two months ago by the Trump administration. Sudan becomes the fourth Arab country to do so in recent months with U.S. backing along with the other accord signers and Morocco.
The agreements are a major breakthrough for Israel, whose existence was once opposed by the entire Arab world. Israel had signed peace treaties with Jordan in 1994 and Egypt in 1979 — two countries that had fought multiple wars against Israel seeking its destruction.
Sudan’s announcement came as Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin visited Sudan on Wednesday. The United States and Sudan also agreed to settle the latter’s debt to the World Bank, according to The Associated Press.
Following the overthrow in 2019 of Sudan’s longtime dictator, Omar al-Bashir, the country is now governed by a joint civilian-military council as it transitions to democracy.
The Abraham Accords are named for the shared patriarch of Jews and Muslims.