Egypt’s Sisi calls for immediate ceasefire in Sudan, allowing access of humanitarian aid

CAIRO – 13 July 2023: In his opening speech at the Sudan’s Neighboring States Summit, held in Cairo on Thursday, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi called for an immediate ceasefire between the conflicting parties in Sudan, the non-inference of foreign powers in the Sudanese crisis, and allowing access of the humanitarian aid to the Sudanese people.

The one-day summit will also discuss ways to end the negative repercussions of the Sudanese crisis on neighboring countries, with the participation of the leaders of Egypt, Libya, Chad, Central Africa, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Eritrea.

“This summit is held at a defining moment in the history of Sudan, where this dear neighboring country is passing through a profound crisis that poses negative repercussions on the security and stability of the world, the region, and Sudan’s neighboring countries,” said President Sisi in his speech, adding that Sudan's neighboring countries should unify their vision to contribute to resolving the crisis.

The Egyptian President noted that the ongoing conflict led to several impediments for the agricultural season, causing 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 […] 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,” President Sisi continued.

The president further stressed that Sudan’s neighboring countries exerted tremendous efforts to be able to receive hundreds of thousands of displaced people, and share their limited resources with them despite the severe global economic situation.

In this regard, President Sisi called 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, to strengthen their resilience and alleviate the suffering of those fleeing the conflict to neighboring countries.

President Sisi confirmed that Egypt has received hundreds of thousands of the displaced Sudanese people, joining the 5 million Sudanese people that had already been living on Egyptian soil for several years, adding that the Egyptian government provided emergency relief, including food, sustenance, and medical supplies to the Sudanese brothers and sisters, who were affected by the conflict inside Sudanese territories.  

“I would like to reiterate that Egypt will exert its utmost efforts, in collaboration with all concerned parties, to stop the spilling of precious Sudanese blood, to preserve the gains of the great people of Sudan, and to help realize its people’s aspirations, voiced by millions in their glorious revolution, to live in security, freedom, peace and justice in their homeland,” President Sisi concluded.

Egypt has repeatedly called for a permanent ceasefire in Sudan, which would pave the way for resolving the ongoing conflict peacefully and stopping the bloodshed.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres voiced, on July 9, his concerns over the ongoing military clashes in Sudan, which could push the country to “the brink of a full-scale civil war” that could lead to the destabilization of the entire region.