Sudan’s Ghandour heads to Washington for UNGA and meetings with U.S. officials
September 12, 2017 (KHARTOUM) – Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour starts a visit to the United States on Wednesday where he will lead Sudan’s delegation for the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly and meet U.S. officials.
Before to leave the country, Ghandour briefed the first deputy president and prime minister Bakri Hassan Salih about the preparation for the annual meeting of the United Nations from 12 to 25 September 2017 and a number of meetings scheduled with the U.S. officials.
American officials use this opportunity to meet leaders from around the world during their participation in this UN gathering, however, these meetings of the Sudanese minister have a special particularity because it comes weeks before a decision on the permanent lift of sanctions on Sudan on 12 October.
According to the foreign ministry spokesperson, Ghandour will deliver Sudan’s statement to the General Assembly on 23 September, and will also meet on the sidelines of the meetings with a number of officials in the U.S. administration to discuss the various issues of concern to both countries.
The visiting Sudanese top diplomat is expected to deliver a speech at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) on the bilateral relations between the two countries and to hold a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
He will meet the UN Secretary General António Guterres and participate in several high-level events to be held on the sidelines of the General Assembly’s meetings, most notably, meetings on South Sudan and the Central African Republic, and peacekeeping operations.
The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N) called on the Sudanese community in the United States to protest against the lifting of sanctions and denounce the regimes of the Sudanese regime during the Sudanese official to Washington.
After his visit to the United States, Ghandour will head to Brussels to take part in a meeting of the IGAD foreign ministers with the European Union on 29 September.
(ST)