Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry expressed on Thursday evening Egypt’s intention to invite neighbouring countries of Sudan to a ministerial meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York next week.
This announcement came during a phone call received by Shoukry from his US counterpart, Antony Blinken.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry reported that Blinken had a phone conversation with Shoukry, in which he affirmed the “strength of Egyptian-American relations, their strategic importance to both parties, both on a bilateral level and in regional and international contexts.”
During the phone call, both sides expressed their “aspirations to enhance this partnership and elevate it to broader horizons in the coming period.”
The bilateral discussions included Sudan, and Egypt’s Foreign Minister revealed during the call that “Egypt intends to invite foreign ministers of neighbouring countries to a meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York next week,” without providing further details.
The Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been engaged in ongoing clashes since mid-April, despite a series of ceasefires that have failed to halt the violence, resulting in over 3,000 casualties, mostly civilians, and more than 5 million displaced and refugees inside and outside the country, according to the United Nations.
Egypt hosted a summit of Sudan’s neighbouring countries in July last year and called for a cessation of hostilities and the initiation of negotiations. The summit was followed in August by Chad hosting the first ministerial meeting of neighbouring countries, with efforts to resolve the Sudanese crisis.
According to the Egyptian statement, the conversation also touched on the situation in Libya and the recent humanitarian tragedy it has witnessed. Shoukry discussed Egypt’s efforts to support relief efforts for the Libyan people and Egyptian citizens in the affected Libyan areas.
On Sunday, Storm Daniel hit several areas in eastern Libya, including the cities of Derna, Benghazi, Al-Bayda, Al-Marj, and Susah, leaving more than 6,000 dead and thousands missing, according to Saad El-Din Abdelwakil, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health in the National Unity Government, announced on Wednesday.