(Photo : Photo by SARAH MEYSSONNIER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok gives a press conference with French President and Sudan's Prime Ministere during the International Conference in support of Sudan at the temporary Grand Palais in Paris, on May 17, 2021. - The French government promised to lend $1.5 billion to Sudan to help it pay off its massive foreign debt, kicking off an international summit aimed at helping the aspiring democracy emerge from decades of authoritarian rule.
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and the leaders of the October 25 military coup are reportedly making progress.
According to reports, both parties agreed to engage in peace talks after pressing the United States and the United Nations to resolve their issues.
Following the recent discussions, there are whispers that Sudan will set up a new 14-member sovereign council that will help the military form new institutional transitions.
On Thursday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to restore constitutional order in the country.
Sudan needs a new government
Burhan later spoke to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and the two agreed that there is a need to speed up the formation of a government.
"The two parties agreed on the need to maintain the path of the democratic transition, the need to complete the structures of the transitional government and to speed up the formation of the government," Burhan's office said via Reuters.
Blinken also urged Burhan to immediately release the political figures they detained during last month's coup attempt. The former added that Burnham should have a dialogue with Hamdok that will bring him back to the office.
Last month, the Sudanese prime minister was held hostage in his home while several other political figures were detained in an undisclosed location. At the time, Burhan dissolved the civilian-military government and declared a state of emergency.
However, the army chief stressed that last month's harrowing incident wasn't a coup attempt but an adjustment to the democratic transition, according to DW.
Following the peace talks, Burhan ordered the release of four civilian members of Hamdok's cabinet. Others that were not released were facing criminal charges.
Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok asked to resign
Prior to the so-called coup attempt, demonstrators have been flocking to the streets of Sudan to urge Prime Minister Hamdok to resign.
Other protesters denounced the high prices of staple goods, the high exchange rate between the Sudanese pound and the US dollar, and more.
Sudan is also suffering from a shortage of basic supplies like bread, cooking oil, and gas. And all this is being blamed on Hamdok's transitional government.
Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has no plans to quit
The Sudanese Prime Minister will remain in office until next year following Omar al-Bashir's removal from office on April 11, 2019, according to AA.
In August 2019, Hamdok was appointed as the new prime minister of Sudan. At the time of his appointment, the PM said that his priorities are stopping the war, building sustainable peace, addressing the severe economic crisis, and building a balanced foreign policy, according to the BBC.
However, most of Hamdok's promises have not materialized after two years in Sudan's transitional government. As such, his critics have been urging him to resign, but Hamdok recently said that he would never step down willingly in the wake of a coup.
Hamdok will continue to stay in power until July 2023 because this is when the presidential elections will be held in the country.
Related Article: 5 Sudanese Senior Government Officials Detained in Possible Coup Plot Amid Rising Tensions Between Civilian, Military Leaders
