Sudanese minister resigns amid reports of interference by PM’s aides

September 10, 2025 (PORT SUDAN) – Sudan’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Omar Siddiq resigned on Wednesday, stating he was stepping aside for a successor, but sources said his departure was due to interference in ministry affairs by aides to the prime minister.

According to a report by the Al-Sudani newspaper citing high-level sources, Siddiq’s resignation was prompted by attempts from the prime minister’s office director, Colonel Nizar Abdallah, and his advisor, Ambassador Badr al-Din al-Jaifari, to influence diplomatic appointments.

The sources said that the two men attempted to influence decisions on ambassadorial transfers and that al-Jaifari had twice sought to replace the ministry’s undersecretary, Hussein al-Amin al-Fadil, over a past dispute.

In his official statement, Siddiq said he was “making way for Ambassador Mohi al-Din Salem to lead the course of Sudanese diplomacy in this delicate and exceptional circumstance.”

Reports have suggested that Salem, a veteran diplomat and current head of the Arab League mission in South Sudan, is slated to become the new foreign minister.

Siddiq, a long-serving diplomat who served as ambassador to China and as Sudan’s permanent representative to the United Nations, was appointed foreign minister on April 30 but was never sworn in. He was instead appointed Minister of State on July 27.

He said he would continue to serve the country, adding that “the end of my work in the corridors of official diplomacy will not stop my work in the broader sphere of national service.”