Turkiye will remain a strategic partner of Sudan, says Burhan

The chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council in Sudan, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, said on Tuesday that Turkiye will remain a strategic partner of his country as he praised the assistance provided by Ankara to the Sudanese people. Burhan made his comment during a meeting in Port Sudan with the Turkish Ambassador to Khartoum, Fatih Yildiz. He stressed the “depth” of Sudanese-Turkish relations.

Yildiz said on X: “I visited Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan… and stressed Turkiye’s determination to cooperate with Sudan politically and economically, and that we will stand by the Sudanese people in all circumstances.”

According to the official Sudanese News Agency (SUNA), the Turkish ambassador described his meeting with Burhan as “fruitful and valuable,” adding that he “reiterated Turkiye’s commitment to supporting Sudan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Yildiz pointed out that he and Burhan discussed support for areas of bilateral cooperation in the fields of agriculture, mining, health and education. “Turkiye will also continue to send humanitarian aid to the Sudanese people.”

A Turkish ship arrived in Port Sudan on the Red Sea on 23 September carrying humanitarian aid for those affected by war, floods and heavy rain. An earlier aid ship arrived on 19 July.

A civil war has been ongoing between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since mid-April last year. It has killed around 21,000 people and displaced 10 million, according to the UN.

International and UN calls are escalating to end the war to spare Sudan a humanitarian catastrophe that has begun to push millions to famine and death due to food shortages as a result of the fighting that has spread to 13 of the 18 states. Cholera has also been spreading in the country.

READ: UNICEF delivers 1.4m cholera vaccines to Sudan