Sudan junta leader El Burhan attends UN summit

Sudan’s chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council and Commander of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan, is scheduled to address the 77th United Nations General Assembly session today.

Lt Gen El Burhan, who is set to deliver Sudan’s statement to the UN, will also be joined by Ambassador Ali El Sadig the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The Transitional Sovereignty Council head will participate in meetings to discuss strengthening multilateral collaboration, with regard to numerous international and regional matters. Additionally, El Burhan will be attending meetings that concern issues such as climate change and food insecurity.

Media advisor to El Burhan and the Sudan Armed Forces, Brig El Taher Abu Haja, stated in a press release to SUNA, that El Burhan’s participation in the various UN meetings “closes down a past chapter in Sudan relations with the West and the United States in particular”, Brig Abu Haja said.

Adding that, Sudan’s participation in today’s UN session reflects “the unity of the people” and Sudan’s “achievement of external relations that serve the cohesion of the internal front with its political and military components in order to achieve national consensus”, the media advisor stated.

Secretary General of the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) Mubarak Ardol also emphasised that Sudan’s participation in addressing these meetings “is a step forward”.

According to SUNA, Ardol said “that this participation will open horizons for Sudan with the international community, as it represents an important step, given that the government has international recognition”.

Education Transformation UN Summit

Earlier this month, El Burhan and his delegation participated in the Education Transformation Summit held at the General Secretariat of the United Nations in New York on September 16, to promote their commitment to education and navigate a way to compensate for the losses to this sector due to Covid -19’s impact.

The summit, which included various head of state and high-level officials, reportedly agreed on developing the quality of education by 2030, by way of setting solid educational foundations for the future through introducing technology and reforming educational practises.

El Burhan called on the UN to contribute to supporting Sudan efforts to transform education by financing educational institutions and strengthening its infrastructure, according to SUNA.

Criticism to El Burhan’s foreign visits

In an interview with Radio Dabanga, Dr Muhamed El Mahdi Hassan head of the political bureau for the National Umma Party, stated that the “international isolation of the coup will not be affected by his resent visits”.

Hassan stated that El Burhan’s visit to London for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II was a result of Sudan’s historic link with the UK, and his United Nations General Assembly summit appearance is linked with the international support for civilian rule and the end of the coup, not his military regime.

The National Umma Party leader attributed El Burhan's participation in the UN summit to the fact that the agenda includes “discussing the political situation in Sudan and the Renaissance Dam”, Hassan said.