February 6, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese foreign minister Ali Karti is visiting the United states at the invitation of two congressmen, a Sudanese official said on Friday.

Sudanese foreign minister Ali Karti speaking to reporters in Khartoum on 28 December 2014 (ST)

Karti’s visit to Washington triggered a wave of criticisms against his invitation to take part in the annual National Prayer Breakfast together with US president Barak Obama and international dignitaries on 5 February.

Rights activists pointed in several articles published in the American press that Karti was the former commander of the Popular Defence Force, a paramilitary force under the command of the Sudanese army. They further accused the foreign minister and the Sudanese presidential aide Ibrahim Ghandour of being responsible of war crimes and atrocities.

Also, two Congressmen Jim McGovern and Tom Lantos, co-chairs of Lantos Human Rights Commission, slammed the visit saying the Sudanese officials should not be invited to attend an event held in the name of the U.S. Congress.

“US Senators Robert Casey and Roger Wicker, the prayer breakfast co-chairs, invited Minister Karti (to attend the event),” the spokesperson of Sudan’s foreign ministry, Youssef al-Kordofani told Sudan Tribune on Friday.

Kordofani said Karti’s participation in the event is important because this prestigious forum allows to clarify facts about Sudan, pointing that the breakfast is attended by decision makers from the US and around the world.

He added that the foreign minister briefed the event about the situation in Sudan, the government efforts to end war in Darfur and the Two Areas, the national dialogue and the general elections.

Karti, according to the spokesperson; also held consultations with members of Congress about the bilateral relations, efforts to lift US sanctions on Sudan and the promotion of dialogue between the two countries.

The State Department on Thursday defended the invitation of the two Sudanese officials and stressed that their visits do not imply any change in the US policy towards the government in Khartoum.

State department spokesperson Marie Harf confirmed Thursday that Karti and the presidential assistant Ghandour who is expected in Washington next week will hold meetings with US officials on bilateral relations.

“It’s part of the engagement process where we raise concerns, certainly, that you are well aware of. And we engage them in a frank and frequent manner to discuss this full range of issues,” she added.

Sudan is on the US list of countries supporting terrorism since 1993 and also subjected to economic sanctions since 1997.

However, American officials admitted Khartoum cooperation on its war against terrorist groups but demands that Khartoum ends armed conflicts in western and southern Sudan , and seeks to restore a democratic rule in the east African country.

Khartoum welcomes dialogue with Washington but says normalisation of bilateral relations should not be linked to internal affairs.

Commenting on the campaign against visit of the two Sudanese officials, Kordofani minimised its impact saying it is a “natural product of (Sudanese) opposition and pressure groups known for their hostility to Sudan”.

The SPLM-N’s secretary general, Yasir Arman, criticised the visit of the two Sudanese officials to Washington.

In an opinion article extended to Sudan Tribune on Friday he called on supporters to “work to prevent” Ghandour’s visit to Washington.

(ST)