“Sudanhorizon” Reveals Behind-the-Scenes Preparations for Berlin Conference, Publishes Final Guest List

Cairo – Sudanhorizon – Sabah Moussa

Preparatory meetings for the upcoming Berlin Conference, scheduled for the 15th of this month, are underway in Addis Ababa. Upon their arrival on Friday, the 40 invited participants began organizing travel arrangements to Berlin. A preparatory meeting is set to take place on Sunday ahead of departure to the German capital on April 14.

Sources from within the meetings told Sudanhorizon that “a preliminary framework for conference preparations has been distributed in anticipation of discussions to reach core principles and final recommendations.” The sources explained that this year’s conference differs from previous editions held in Paris and London over the past two years. In addition to addressing humanitarian issues and needs in Sudan, the conference will also tackle the political process, de-escalation measures, and the formation of a fully empowered civilian democratic government as a foundation for the political process.

The sources added that the conference will effectively run from April 14 to 16. They noted that some parties’ boycott and dissatisfaction stem from the role of the five-party mechanism sponsoring the civilian component of the conference—namely the African Union, United Nations, Arab League, European Union, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development. This mechanism is expected to use the participants as a basis for future Sudanese-Sudanese dialogue, which some view as deliberate exclusion.

Meanwhile, positions among some Sudanese national forces are shifting. The National Forces Coordination, led by Mohamed Sayed Ahmed Al-Jakoumi, has reversed its decision to boycott the conference, with its representatives arriving in Addis Ababa on Friday to take part in the preparatory meeting.

In contrast, components of the Democratic Bloc Alliance opted to participate through individual invitations extended to some of their members, after expressing reservations about participating as a unified alliance.

At the same time, the Governor of the Darfur Region and leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement, Minni Arko Minnawi, delegated the region’s Humanitarian Affairs Coordinator to attend the conference as an observer. However, he criticized the conference, stating that its agenda does not align with the nature of the invited participants. He described this as a concerning trend toward discussing critical issues without the direct involvement of key stakeholders in the crisis, which could weaken the chances of reaching realistic and sustainable solutions.

Simultaneously, the National Movement Forces rejected the invitation extended personally to its leader, Tijani Sisi, considering it a slight, especially given that other alliances received a larger number of invitations—something they viewed as unfair distribution.

This comes as the Sudanese government has announced its rejection of the conference due to not receiving an official invitation and not being consulted on the arrangements. Sudan’s Ambassador to Berlin, Ilham Ibrahim Mohamed Ahmed, submitted an official memorandum on Friday to the German Foreign Ministry expressing the government’s refusal to hold the conference without coordination or participation.

Shortlink: https://sudanhorizon.com/?p=12772