Sudan’s Burhan to meet China’s Xi, African leaders at Beijing summit

August 27, 2024 (PORT SUDAN) – Sudan’s military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan will hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and several African leaders next week during a summit in Beijing, Sudan’s acting foreign minister said on Tuesday.

Burhan will attend the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit scheduled for Sept. 2-6, Hussein Ali Awad told reporters.

“Burhan is set to have discussions with the Chinese president on the sidelines of the summit and will also meet a number of African leaders,” Awad said.

He added that Burhan’s presence at the summit offered a chance to address Sudan’s issues with Beijing and to stress the importance of China’s role in post-conflict Sudan, given the strong ties between the two countries.

The FOCAC summit will also provide a platform for discussing issues important to Sudan with other participating leaders, Awad said.

Burhan received an official invitation to the summit from both Xi and Senegalese President Macky Sall, the current FOCAC co-chair.

Awad said the forum will focus on security, peace, good governance, agricultural modernization, and the Belt and Road Initiative, with discussions taking place across four parallel forums following the opening session.

The summit will kick off with a meeting of senior officials, followed by a foreign ministers’ meeting to discuss the Beijing Declaration and Beijing Action Plan before they are presented to the summit for adoption.

Burhan is also expected to attend a business conference on the sidelines of the summit on Sept. 6.

The FOCAC, an institutional framework for economic cooperation founded in 2000, comprises China, the African Union, and 53 African countries including Sudan.