Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Badr Abdel Ati, called for preserving the Sudanese state and institutions, “and dealing with the humanitarian consequences of the current crisis in a serious and urgent manner.”
His comments came during a meeting on Tuesday in Cairo with the European Union Special Representative to the Horn of Africa, Annette Weber.
In a press statement, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said that discussions during the meeting touched on security and political developments in the Horn of Africa region, including escalating crises and growing extremism and terrorism threats.
Abdel Ati stressed that Egypt attaches great importance to strengthening its relations with the countries of the Horn of Africa, noting that he went on his first foreign trip to Somalia and Djibouti to launch the first direct flight route between the three countries.
He also underlined Cairo’s keenness to achieve a higher degree of interconnection with the countries of the region, as it represents strategic depth for Egyptian national security.
The minister pointed to the importance of supporting the government of Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in achieving stability, development and combating terrorism.
The spokesman said Abdel Ati discussed security in the Red Sea, the means to ensure freedom of international navigation, and the effects of escalating security threats on the global economy, and on Egypt in particular, as a result of the resources that were lost from the revenues of the Suez Canal.
The two sides also reviewed the outcomes of the Sudanese Political and Civil Forces Conference, as well as Cairo’s efforts to create common ground between the Sudanese parties to start a comprehensive political process.
Abdel Ati and Weber agreed on the importance of deploying concerted efforts to defuse the conflict, coordinating between all effective mediation paths, and resorting to all necessary diplomatic and political means to address the crisis as soon as possible.
