Ashraf AboArafe
Today, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi inaugurated the opening session of the Summit of Sudan’s Neighboring Countries, and delivered a speech that came as follows:
Your Excellencies,
The Heads of State and Government of Sudan’s Neighboring counties
Your Excellency, Chairperson of the African Union Commission,
Your Excellency, Secretary General of the League of Arab States,
Ladies and gentlemen, honorable guests,
Allow me at the outset to welcome you all in Egypt and to thank you for accepting the invitation to attend this important summit. This summit is held at a defining historic moment in the history of Sudan, during which this neighboring country, which is dear to our hearts, is passing through a profound crisis that has its negative repercussions on the security and stability of the region, the world and, in particular, Sudan’s neighboring countries, which are the ones most affected by the crisis and most understanding and familiar with its complexities. This makes it necessary for our countries to unify our vision and positions with regard to the crisis, and take consistent and unified decisions to contribute to resolving it, in consultation with the proposals of effective regional institutions, primarily the African Union and the League of Arab States, so as to preserve the interests and resources of the peoples of neighboring countries and the security and stability of the entire region.
Ladies and gentlemen,
You are obviously aware of the gravity of the current crisis facing Sudan, and the repercussions of the fighting that has been ongoing for over three months, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians and the displacement of millions of its people to safer areas inside the country or crossing into neighboring countries. This is, in addition to the formidable material damage to public and private properties and the destruction of numerous vital facilities in the country.
Adding to this are the impediments facing the agricultural season, which caused acute food shortages. The conflict and its negative repercussions also led to the deterioration of health institutions and shortages in medicines and healthcare supplies, which resulted in catastrophic repercussions on the humanitarian situation as a whole.
This sharp deterioration in the humanitarian situation and the catastrophic repercussions of the crisis necessitate immediate and sustainable cessation of the military operations, in order to preserve the resources of the Sudanese people and the state’s institutions, to enable them to assume their responsibilities toward the citizens. This shall pave the way for a prompt, coordinated and serious response by all parties in the international community, in a manner consistent with the severity of this perilous crisis, whose root-causes must be addressed by reaching a comprehensive political solution responsive to the hopes and aspirations of the Sudanese people.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I would not miss the opportunity to laud the tremendous efforts exerted by and noble stance of Sudan’s neighboring countries, which received hundreds of thousands of displaced people, and shared their limited resources with them, despite the severe global economic situation.
In this regard, I call on all parties in the international community to keep the pledges they declared at the Sudan Pledging Conference, which was held in support of Sudan in June 2023, by supporting Sudan’s neighboring countries that were hardest hit by the negative repercussions of the crisis, in order to strengthen their resilience and alleviate the suffering from those fleeing the conflict to neighboring countries.
Honorable attendees,
Immediately after the outbreak of the crisis in Sudan, Egypt took the initiative to receive hundreds of thousands of our Sudanese brothers, who joined around 5 million Sudanese people already living on Egyptian soil for several years.
The Government of Egypt also provided emergency relief that included food, sustenance, and medical supplies to the Sudanese brothers, who were affected by the conflict inside Sudanese territories.
I would like to reiterate here that Egypt will exert its utmost efforts, in collaboration with all parties, to stop the spilling of the precious Sudanese blood, preserve the gains of the great people of Sudan, and help realize its people’s aspirations, which were voiced by millions of its sons during their glorious revolution, to live in security, freedom, peace and justice in their homeland.
Egypt will also seek to facilitate the access of humanitarian assistance provided by donors to Sudan through Egyptian land, in coordination with the relevant international agencies and organizations.
Honorable attendees,
Allow me to seize this opportunity to outline to you Egypt’s vision on how Sudan can emerge from the current crisis.
This vision is based on the following elements:
First:
Calling on the warring parties to stop the escalation and start, without delay, serious negotiations, aimed at reaching an immediate and lasting ceasefire.
Second:
Calling on all Sudanese parties to facilitate the access of humanitarian assistance and establish safe passages to deliver this aid to the neediest areas inside Sudan and develop mechanisms to ensure providing the necessary protection to humanitarian aid convoys and international relief staff to enable them to do their job.
Third:
Launching an inclusive dialogue of the Sudanese parties, with the participation of political and civil forces and representatives of women and the youth, with the aim of starting a comprehensive political process, fulfilling the ambition and aspirations of the Sudanese people for security, prosperity, stability and democracy.
Fourth:
Developing a communication mechanism, emanating from this conference, to create an executive action plan to reach a comprehensive solution to the Sudanese crisis. This mechanism shall be tasked with engaging directly with the parties to the conflict and coordinating with existing mechanisms and frameworks.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Allow me, before concluding my speech, to address the brotherly and dear people of Sudan: ”The scenes of devastation, destruction and killing we are seeing are bleeding the hearts of all Egyptians, we feel the suffering and pain of our brothers in Sudan. We pray Allah Almighty to lift this ordeal as soon as possible.”
Based on that, we underscore the need for all brothers in Sudan to uphold the supreme interest and work toward maintaining the sovereignty and unity of Sudan, away from foreign interference that seek to achieve narrow interests which do not serve Sudan’s stability or peace, nor the region. I reaffirm that Egypt will spare no effort to help restore security, stability and peace across this brotherly country, in collaboration with all neighboring and friendly parties.
Once again, I would like to extend gratitude to the participating leaders for accepting the invitation to attend this summit, which we hope will succeed in its noble mission to help its dear neighbor and support the brotherly people overcome the current ordeal as soon as possible
Thank you
