WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday discussed delisting Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism and Sudan-Israel relations in a phone conversation with Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.

"Secretary Pompeo and Prime Minister Hamdok welcomed President Trump's commitment to move forward with rescission of Sudan's State Sponsor of Terrorism designation, a monumental step forward in the bilateral relationship," the State Department said in a statement.

The two agreed on the importance of the rapid passage of legal peace legislation by the Congress, the statement added.

Pompeo also applauded Hamdok's "efforts-to-date to improve Sudan's relationship with Israel and expressed hope that they would continue."

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that he would remove Sudan from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list after Sudan pays 335 million U.S. dollars to American victims.

Citing U.S. officials, media reported that Sudan's removal from the list paves the way for the normalization between the Arab state and Israel, which Trump would tout as another foreign policy achievement with the presidential election only two weeks away.

Hamdok stressed earlier this month that the delisting and the issue of normalization with Israel should be addressed separately.

Pompeo told reporters Tuesday at a press bring that the United States had begun the process to remove Sudan from the list. "We also are continuing to work to get every nation to recognize Israel ... that certainly includes Sudan," he added.

Reports are saying U.S. officials were traveling with an Israeli delegation to Khartoum on Wednesday.

The United States listed Sudan as one of the countries sponsoring terrorism in 1993. Since the ouster of former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in April 2019, the pace of rapprochement between Khartoum and Washington has been accelerating despite many outstanding issues. Enditem

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