CAIRO

Egypt on Saturday hosted an international conference aimed at ending the war in Sudan, which has persisted for over a year.

In a statement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said: “Dr. Badr Abdelatty, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigration, is now inaugurating the Sudanese Political and Civil Forces Conference in Cairo. Representatives from the United Nations, the African Union, the League of Arab States, the European Union, and several key countries involved in the Sudan issue attended the conference."

In his opening speech, the Egyptian foreign minister emphasized "the gravity of the current crisis that has afflicted Sudan for over a year,” according to the Egyptian Middle East News Agency (MENA).

He called for an immediate and sustainable cessation of military operations in Sudan to save the Sudanese people and state institutions.

He reaffirmed Egypt's commitment to cooperating with all parties to stop the bloodshed in Sudan and stressed that any genuine political solution must be based on a Sudanese vision without external interference, and facilitated by international and regional institutions.

Former Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok, also the head of Sudan's Coordination of Civil and Democratic Forces (Taqaddum), stated that the conference is taking place at a critical juncture for Sudan, which is grappling with an existential crisis.

Hamdok outlined three main topics at the conference: Stopping the war, tackling the humanitarian crisis—the largest in the world today—and discussing the political process, its agenda, and key practical principles, according to MENA.

Since mid-April 2023, the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces have been engaged in a war that has resulted in approximately 15,000 deaths and displaced around 8.5 million people, according to the United Nations.

Mediation efforts led by Washington and Saudi Arabia have not yet succeeded in securing a cease-fire.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi​​​​​​​