The Sudanese capital has witnessed high-level US-Sudanese talks, during which the two sides agreed on a new roadmap to remove Sudan from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism in return for its commitment to respect religious freedoms, ensure human rights and boycott North Korea. US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan arrived in Khartoum on Thursday for a two-day official visit, which is seen as an extension of the Sudanese-American dialogue, which has been going on for several months. Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour described the visit of the American delegation to his country as “the beginning of the second phase of the Sudanese-American dialogue”, noting in a press statement following his talks with Sullivan, that Sudan has assured the American side that it would deal with the five-track roadmap as a “national agenda”. He pointed out that the highlights of the new phase of the Sudanese-American dialogue would include removing the country from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism, exempting it from its debts, and helping it join the World Trade Organization. Ghandour said the US official expressed his readiness to cooperate with Sudan in the fight against terrorism, noting that the American side expressed concern about the cooperation of his government with North Korea. “We assured them that there is no economic, commercial or military cooperation with North Korea,” in line with the commitment to the resolutions of the United Nations and the Security Council. As for cooperation at the economic level, Ghandour said that Sullivan expressed Washington’s readiness to cooperate with Khartoum after the lifting of economic sanctions. He explained that some US companies have entered the field of investment in Sudan, saying: “The delegation underlined the commitment of US banks to cooperate with Sudan and the US readiness to support the country in its cooperation with international banks.”