Egypt calls for ministerial meeting of Sudan's neighboring countries next week

September 15, 2023 (Anatolia) Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry announced on Thursday evening his country's intention to call for a ministerial meeting of Sudan's neighboring countries, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week.

This came during a phone call Shoukry received from his US counterpart Antony Blinken, according to a statement by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.

According to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Blinken had a phone call with Shoukry, during which he stressed "the strength of US-Egyptian relations, their strategy and their importance for each party, both bilaterally, and at the regional and international levels.

"During the phone call, the two sides expressed their "aspiration to strengthen this partnership and elevate it to wider horizons during the next phase."

The bilateral talks touched on Sudan, and the Egyptian foreign minister revealed during the call that "Egypt intends to call for a meeting of foreign ministers of neighboring countries on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week," without further details.

Since mid-April, the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces have been engaged in clashes that a series of truces have failed to stop, leaving more than 3,000 people dead, most of them civilians, and more than 5 million displaced and refugees inside and outside the country, according to the United Nations.