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Sudan’s Neighboring Countries To Hold Summit in Cairo on July 13
11 July 2023
EIRNS—The Egyptian Presidency announced on July 9 that the Sudan’s Neighboring Countries Summit will be held in Cairo on July 13. An initiative of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the summit should bring together leaders from Egypt, Chad, South Sudan, Libya, Ethiopia, the Central African Republic and hopefully Eritrea, all of which share borders with Sudan. They will discuss ways to end the conflict between the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Security Force that has been raging for three months. This latest effort follows the failure of ceasefire talks under the sponsorship of the U.S., U.K. and Saudi Arabia that had been taking place in Jeddah. “In light of the current crisis in Sudan, and emanating from President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s keenness on formulating a joint vision for Sudan’s direct neighboring countries and on taking steps to resolve the crisis, stop the bloodshed of the Sudanese people and spare them the negative effects they are exposed to, and based on the President’s commitment to maintaining the State of Sudan and its resources and curbing the crisis’ ongoing and formidable impact on neighboring countries and the security and stability of the entire region,” read the July 9th statement from the office of the Egyptian Presidency. The statement added that the summit aims “to explore ways to end the current conflict and its negative repercussions on neighboring countries and set vigorous mechanisms, with the participation of neighboring countries, to settle the crisis in Sudan in a peaceful manner in coordination with other regional and international trajectories to settle the crisis.” Meanwhile it seems the U.S. is trying to stick its nose into this effort. It is reported that U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee will be in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on July 10-11 to meet with African leaders and Sudanese delegations, including from civilian parties. A political appointee, Phee has been in and out of government serving on the National Security Council and in the State Department. A note of caution is deserved given the fact that she has received the “Order of the British Empire” according to her official CV. [dea] |