Saudi Arabia to co-chair ‘Donor Conference for Sudan and Region’

Riyadh, The Gulf Observer: The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that the Kingdom will co-chair the high-level “Donor Conference for Sudan and the Region” on June 19, to provide humanitarian support for Sudan in the ongoing crises.

Prince Faisal bin Farhan tweeted: “We look forward to a wide participation of donor countries to contribute to mitigating the effects of this crisis.”

The foreign minister added that the Kingdom was continuing its endeavors to alleviate the suffering of the Sudanese people and it hoped the tragedy would end soon.

A statement on Tuesday said that Saudi Arabia would co-chair the conference with Qatar, Egypt, Germany, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the EU, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Prince Faisal said in a tweet on Tuesday: “Since the beginning of the crisis in the Republic of Sudan, and under the directives of the wise leadership, the Kingdom has been present to alleviate the suffering of the Sudanese people by providing humanitarian aid, evacuating those affected, and facilitating political talks.”

The Kingdom announced on May 7 that the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aid would provide aid worth $100 million to the Sudanese people.

The Kingdom also supports efforts to facilitate talks alongside the US to bring about an end to the conflict.

The two facilitators managed to bring the two sides to the discussion table in May to sign the Jeddah Declaration, a commitment to peace which agreed to allow the unimpeded movement and delivery of humanitarian assistance to Sudan.

There have been multiple ceasefires facilitated by the Kingdom and the US to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians, but the violence has continued.

A joint statement on Sunday said that the Kingdom and the US had noted the reduction in the intensity of the fighting during a 24-hour ceasefire that concluded on June 10.

However, the two facilitators said they had been disappointed at the resumption of intense violence since, and both parties have condemned it.

Saudi Arabia and the US have reiterated their pledge to stand by the people of Sudan.