Sudan on the agenda as Saudi foreign minister participates in Arab ministerial group meeting

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan participated in meeting on Sudan with Egyptian counterpart and Arab League secretary-general. (SPA)
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JEDDAH: Ƶ’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan on Wednesday participated in a meeting of the Arab Ministerial Contact Group to discuss developments in Sudan, the Kingdom’s ministry announced.

The meeting, which was in Jeddah on the sidelines of the ministerial preparatory meeting for the 32nd Arab Summit on Friday, was held with Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry, and Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

The meeting looked at the most important contents of the Jeddah Declaration, including the commitment to protect civilians in Sudan.

The Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces signed on Thursday a declaration — with the facilitation of Ƶ and the US — agreeing to international humanitarian law to help action to meet the needs of civilians.

Under the “Jeddah Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan,” the rival parties also promised to prioritize discussions “to achieve a short-term cease-fire to facilitate the delivery of emergency humanitarian assistance and restoration of essential services.”

Prince Faisal said that all efforts would be made to consolidate the agreement, and urged the parties in the conflict to seriously engage in the dialogue process, which would contribute to reducing the suffering of the Sudanese people, and the safety and territorial integrity of their lands.

The meeting also discussed ways of continuing the efforts of the Arab Ministerial Contact Group with all Sudanese parties to uphold the higher interests of Sudan and reach solutions that would meet the aspirations of the Sudanese people toward security, stability and development.

The group was formed earlier this month following an Arab League Council resolution to communicate with Sudanese parties and major countries to reach a settlement to the crisis.

Meanwhile, Prince Faisal participated in a number of Arab committee meetings on the sidelines of the preparatory meeting, which included a meeting on Turkiye headed by Egypt; a ministerial committee to support the State of Palestine headed by Algeria; and a ministerial committee in charge of studying proposals of Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to modernize, develop and strengthen the Arab League.

Discussions took place on strengthening joint action to comprehensively protect Arab security; developing and supporting water and food security for all Arab countries; and following up on the political developments of the Palestinian cause and the Arab-Israeli conflict.