IGAD Chief Meets Sudanese Leaders as Khartoum Office Reopens

KHARTOUM, July 30, 2026 — Sudan's top two officials each held talks Thursday with Workneh Gebeyehu, head of the East African regional bloc IGAD, following the reopening of the organization's Khartoum office for the first time since war broke out in April 2023.

Sovereign Council Chairman Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Prime Minister Kamel Idris met separately with Gebeyehu shortly after the reopening ceremony, where he said the office would help support peace efforts, contribute to reconstruction, and engage with local communities.

According to a Sovereign Council statement, Burhan's meeting with Gebeyehu also included Foreign Minister Mohieddin Salem, with discussions centered on routes to lasting peace. Gebeyehu said his delegation had seen firsthand the destruction across Khartoum and repeated IGAD's condemnation of rights abuses in El Fasher and other conflict zones.

The visit comes months after Sudan restored its IGAD membership this past February, ending a roughly two-year suspension that had followed the appearance of Rapid Support Forces commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo at a leaders' summit in Uganda.

Gebeyehu stressed that IGAD's role is to back Sudanese-owned solutions rather than dictate terms from outside, saying peace ultimately has to come from within Sudan. He added that the country's own political figures and thinkers are best positioned to chart its path forward, with IGAD acting only as a facilitator for national efforts. He reaffirmed the bloc's willingness to support any initiative led by Burhan and the government aimed at restoring stability and rebuilding the country.

IGAD is part of a broader five-party framework — alongside the African Union, United Nations, European Union, and Arab League — working to help Sudanese political actors get a political process moving.

In his separate meeting with Gebeyehu, Prime Minister Idris discussed areas of cooperation and coordinated efforts to rebuild regions devastated by the conflict.

Source: https://sudantribune.com/article/316833, https://sudanhorizon.com/prime-minister-meets-igad-executive-secretary/