Leaders of Saudi Arabia & Qatar will skip Bashir’s inauguration
May 31, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese government backtracked on its announcement this week that Saudi King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz and Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad will fly to Sudan to attend the swearing-in ceremony of president Omer Hassan al-Bashir.
Sudan’s state news agency (SUNA) said that Qatar’s deputy Prime Minister Ahmad bin Abdullah Al Mahmoud will arrive on Monday for the ceremony.
There was no word on the level of representation by the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Sudan has recently managed to normalize its ties with Saudi Arabia and UAE and it was expected that the thaw in ties would be reflected in the delegations they send to this event.
One Gulf observer told Sudan Tribune that it is not customary for these nations to dispatch senior officials for these kind of ceremonies.
Karti said that leaders of Egypt, Kenya, Somalia, Zimbabwe, Djibouti, Chad and Ethiopia will be present.
His spokesperson Ali al-Sadiq earlier confirmed that South Sudan, Comoros Island and Uganda will be represented at the Vice President level.
Bahrain will send its deputy Prime Minister, al-Sadiq said while Turkey and Algeria will send their parliament speakers along with representatives from Russia, China, Morocco, Tunisia and Malaysia.
Late last month, Bashir won re-election with 94% of the vote, extending his nearly three-decade rule for another five years.
(ST)