File photo taken on Nov. 12, 2019 shows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attending a press conference in Tel Aviv, Israel. Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit announced on Nov. 21 that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been indicted in a series of corruption cases. The indictment marks the first time an incumbent prime minister is being charged with bribery. (Gideon Markowicz/JINI via Xinhua)

Israel will send $5 million worth of wheat to Sudan, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Sunday, just days after an announcement that the two countries have agreed to normalize relations.

"We are looking forward to a warm peace and are sending $5 million worth of wheat immediately to our new friends in Sudan," Netanyahu's office said on Twitter.

Sudan has embarked on a rocky transition under a joint civilian-military administration since the April 2019 ouster of leader Omar al-Bashir, but it has struggled with severe economic woes, including a sharp depreciation of the Sudanese pound and skyrocketing consumer prices.

A tripling of the bread price late in 2018 was the initial trigger for street protests against Bashir that led to his ouster.

The northeast African country consumes 2 million tons of wheat annually, according to official figures, relying heavily on imports.

"Israel will be working closely with the USA to assist Sudan's transition," Netanyahu added.

The UAE and Bahrain signed an accord at the White House in September to normalize ties with the Jewish state, but Sudan carries added symbolism as an Arab nation that has been at war with Israel.

News of the Sudan-Israel normalization came on Friday, shortly after US President Donald Trump declared that Washington was formally moving to delist Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism, a designation that strangled Khartoum's economy for decades.

AFP