IGAD should establish partnerships with China and Russia: Sudan’s FM

November 29, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Sadiq said the East African bloc IGAD should establish partnerships with China and Russia ahead of a ministerial meeting in Khartoum on Wednesday.

IGAD, which is made up of Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, and Uganda, has forged partnerships with the European Union, Germany, Denmark, The Netherlands, the USA, Norway, Sweden, Italy, Canada and Japan among others.

Foreign ministers of the IGAD countries arrived in Khartoum to participate in the 48th ministerial meeting of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development in East Africa (IGAD).

Sudan which chairs the regional body said the agenda of the meeting includes peace and security, drought and desertification issues, as well as conflict resolution.

In statements to the official news agency SUNA about the meeting, Ali Sadiq underscored that it is important to rebalance IGAD’s relations with the international community.

“There is a need to strive to find non-traditional partners such as China, the Gulf countries and Russia, bearing in mind that the 28 IGAD partners are mostly Western countries, and two organizations, the European Union and the Arab League,” he said.

“During its presidency, Sudan seeks to find other partners, we do not want to rely on a certain party. We want to create a balance in our international relations between East and West,” he stressed.

The minister added that the Arabic language should be adopted as one of the official languages besides English and French.

Also, Sudan calls for structural reforms in the regional body and a fair representation of the state members within the organisation in terms of positions and centres.

Isolated for over 30 years, Sudan was marginalized in the regional institution.

In support of the democratic transition in Sudan, the IGAD leaders elected Sudan for the first time for the chairmanship of the East African block on November 29, 2019.

The bloc had been chaired by Ethiopian since 2008.

(ST)