US President Donald Trump has renewed the State of Emergency on Sudan, citing an executive order by President Bush in 2006 imposing sanctions on the country, the Sudan Tribune reports.

The State of Emergency on Sudan was declared for the first time on November 3, 1997, allowing former President Bill Clinton to impose economic sanctions on the country for sponsoring terrorism and human rights abuses.

The November 1997 declaration of a national emergency on Sudan enabled the US to block the property of individuals involved in the conflict in Darfur.

On October 6, Trump decided to repeal the economic sanctions of 1997 which blocked Sudanese government property and prohibited transactions with Sudan.

However, the individual sanctions imposed remain despite the revocation of the economic embargo on Sudan.

“Despite recent positive developments, the crisis constituted by the actions and policies of the Government of Sudan that led to the declaration of a national emergency and the expansion of that emergency, has not been resolved,” said the president.

“These actions and policies continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. I have, therefore, determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13067, as expanded by Executive Order 13400, with respect to Sudan.”

US Presidents must renew national emergencies every year because the statute lets emergencies automatically expire after one year.

The decision to repeal the 1997 sanctions is part of a policy aimed at relieving the suffering of ordinary people while simultaneously offering incentives to Khartoum to implement democratic reforms and end armed conflict.

Talks will take place between the two countries later this month on ending all sanctions.