Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry received Annette Weber, the EU Special Representative for the Horn of Africa, on Sunday to discuss the security and political challenges in the region, especially the situation in Sudan. According to Ahmed Abu Zeid, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Shoukry appreciated the European support for Egypt's efforts to create a common ground for the Sudanese civil forces to address the causes of the crisis and start a comprehensive political process. Shoukry also briefed Weber on the efforts of the "neighbouring countries" mechanism, which was initiated by Egypt in Cairo. He emphasized the need to respect Sudan's sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity, and to preserve its state, capabilities, and institutions. He also stressed the importance of dealing with the humanitarian consequences of the current crisis seriously and comprehensively and urged the donor countries and parties to fulfil their pledges made at the donor conference in June 2023. Regarding the crisis in Gaza and Egypt's efforts to de-escalate it, Shoukry warned that the international community should not ignore the crisis in Sudan due to its prolonged duration or the emergence of other crises in the region. He called for the coordination of regional and international efforts to persuade the parties to the conflict to positively interact with the efforts to resolve the crisis. On the other hand, Weber shared a comprehensive assessment of her contacts with all parties to try to contain the situation in Sudan, as well as her contacts with political forces. She thanked Egypt for facilitating her meetings with representatives of Sudanese political forces in Cairo recently. The meeting also discussed the situation in Somalia, where Shoukry expressed Egypt's unwavering support for Somalia's efforts in combating the terrorist group Al-Shabaab, restoring stability, and completing the political track. He also discussed Egypt's position on the recent rounds of negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), and Egypt's insistence on reaching a binding legal agreement on the filling and operation of the dam. Weber praised Egypt's important role in the region and affirmed the EU's keenness on permanent coordination with Egypt on all relevant regional issues.
