Egyptian Minister of Health Hala Zayed left Khartoum on Wednesday after a two-day visit during which she met her Sudanese counterpart Osama Abdel-Rahim, according to state-owned news agency MENA. The two ministers' talks touched upon the conditions in Sudan after rising floodwaters hit swaths of the country in recent days. The weeks of heavy flooding have left dozens of people dead and destroyed tens of thousands of homes. Zayed reaffirmed Egypt's willingness to support Sudan in such critical times, as the two ministers witnessed the delivery of a new aid shipment from Egypt on Wednesday. On Saturday, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi expressed support to Sudan. “I express my sincere solidarity with the brotherly Sudanese government and people amid the heavy rains and flash floods that have ravaged their country, causing devastation and tragic loss of life,” El-Sisi tweeted. While the Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday “while Egypt expresses its sincere condolences to the victims of the floods that swept through brotherly Sudan, it affirms its readiness to coordinate with its brothers in Sudan necessary humanitarian relief efforts to face the repercussions of the floods.” Upon directives from El-Sisi, Egypt sent on Wednesday two additional military aircraft, part of Egypt's ongoing aid airlift operation to Sudan, loaded with foodstuffs and medical supplies, the Egyptian health ministry said in a statement. On Tuesday, three Egyptian military planes carrying 42 tonnes of food, medical supplies and medicine arrived in Khartoum. According to Egyptian Chargé d'Affaires to Sudan Nader Zaki, who was quoted by Sudanese news agency SUNA, this was the largest humanitarian shipment Egypt has sent since the beginning of the crisis in Sudan. Egypt has sent Sudan over 80 tonnes of humanitarian aid so far, Zaki said on Tuesday, adding that this amount is less than half of the total amount scheduled to be sent. During her two-day visit, Zayed was accompanied by an Egyptian medical team consisting of 20 doctors and nurses, who will be deployed in the four most affected areas in Khartoum State, the health ministry's statement said. Sudan's Security and Defence Council declared a national state of emergency for three months on Saturday because of the floods, which have killed 99 people, and designated Sudan a natural disaster zone, Sudan's state news agency SUNA said. The levels of floods and rain this year have exceeded the records set in 1946 and 1988, with expectations of continued flooding, Al-Sheikh added.
