Egypt tries to get new Sudan government to its side
Egypt has recently hosted a meeting of Sudan’s revolutionary forces and armed opposition to help advance negotiations and peace talks, as Cairo believes security in Sudan is linked to its own internal stability.
CAIRO — Cairo kicked off its first official move to support Sudan in its security and political issues. On Sept. 22-30, a tourist resort in Ain Sokhna hosted figures from the political forces and armed movements represented by the Sudan Revolutionary Front and Nidaa al-Sudan to sponsor a national dialogue and come up with agreements for peace in order to establish security in all Sudanese territory.
Cairo was among the first countries to closely follow up on the developments in Sudan since the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir in April, and it has been in constant contact with the Transitional Military Council. It has sponsored the dialogue between Sudan’s Forces of Freedom and Change and the Sudanese Revolutionary Front, from which the document of the Constitutional Declaration emerged. At the government level, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry was among the first officials to visit Sudan Sept. 9, to coordinate with the new government, only hours after Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was sworn in.
An Egyptian security source familiar with the Sudanese dossier told Al-Monitor, “After the relative stability inside Sudan since Bashir’s ouster on April 11 and the signing of the Constitutional Declaration, the security issue became the main dilemma in the equation of political stability. This reflects negatively on the Egyptian national security should security tension persist and armed movements continue to control various parts of the Sudanese territory.”
The source added, “Egypt — through its sponsorship of dialogue and negotiations — shares its experience and vision regarding security arrangements, the integration of armies and armed movements into the Sudanese [National Army] and the formation of a unified, professional, national army to serve the state.”
