Luanda: President João Lourenço of Angola received a message from the President of Sudan, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan Abdel Rahman. This message was delivered on Sunday night to Angola’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Téte António, by the head of Sudanese diplomacy, Ali Yousef Ahmed Al-Sharif.
According to Angola Press News Agency, Al-Sharif was in Luanda to participate in the 18th ordinary session of the Interministerial Committee of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), which took place on the same day. The bilateral relations between Angola and Sudan have been characterized by historic solidarity and mutual interest in enhancing cooperation across political, economic, and cultural domains.
The statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs highlighted that Angola and Sudan maintain a broad and close partnership, primarily focusing on diplomacy, politics, economy, trade, energy, natural resources, education, culture, defense, and security. Both nations are members of the ICGLR, an organ
ization established in 1994 to address peace and security issues in the region.
The Angolan capital, Luanda, also hosted the 18th ordinary session of the Interministerial Committee of the ICGLR. The session, held under the theme ‘Peace, Security, Stability and Development in the Great Lakes Region,’ included speeches from notable figures such as the executive secretary of the ICGLR, João Caholo; the African Union High Representative for the Great Lakes Region, Sghir Said; and the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Region, Huang Xia.
Minister Téte António, in his capacity as president of the Interministerial Committee of the ICGLR, expressed concerns over the financial crisis affecting the organization’s Secretariat, which threatens its sustainability. He urged Member States to fulfill their financial contributions to resolve the crisis, ensuring the Secretariat can effectively serve its mandate and implement regional policies.