An American warship has docked in Port Sudan the day after a Russian frigate arrived at the same Red Sea port.
US diplomats said the second visit in a week by the US navy ship highlighted a willingness to strengthen the renewed partnership between the two countries.
The US delisted Khartoum as a state sponsor of terrorism following the overthrow in 2019 of former President Omar al-Bashir.
Russia is building a naval base near Port Sudan, big enough for four warships and 300 personnel.
The USS Churchill docked shortly after Russia’s Admiral Grigorovich frigate arrived in Port Sudan, where the Russian navy said “a logistical support base” would be created.
The Admiral Grigorovich frigate would refuel and its crew rest after exercises in the Indian Ocean off Pakistan, the navy added.
– ‘Peace and stability’ –
Sudan’s military said the Admiral Grigorovich’s visit was “part of advancing diplomatic relations” between the two countries, according to a statement late Sunday.
In December, Russia announced signing a 25-year agreement to build a naval base in Port Sudan, part of Moscow’s latest push into Africa as it seeks to renew its geopolitical clout.
The purpose of the base will be to “uphold peace and stability in the region”, according to the deal.
Russia’s navy will be allowed to keep up to four ships at a time at the base including nuclear-powered vessels. The base will be manned by up to 300 military and civilian personnel.
Russia will have the right to transport via Sudan’s airports and ports “weapons, ammunition and equipment” needed for the naval base to function.
The Red Sea naval base will be Russia’s first in Africa and only its second on foreign soil, after Tartous in Syria.
The US has its only permanent base in Africa in the port of Djibouti, 1,000 kilometres (625 miles) to the south, which overlooks the narrow strait between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden — a chokepoint for world shipping.
After Bashir was toppled, Sudan is led by an civilian-majority administration which has been seeking reintegration in the international community and to ending decades of pariah status.
In December, Washington removed Khartoum from its blacklist as part of a deal for Sudan to agree to normalise ties with Israel.
The move is hoped to help fix Sudan’s beleaguered economy suffering from decades of US sanctions, mismanagement and civil war, as well as by the secession of oil-rich South Sudan in 2011.
