Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the (a) withdrawal and (b) closure of international partners’ diplomatic missions in (i) Sudan and (ii) South Sudan on stability in that region.

The safety of our staff and British Nationals is our priority. The UK like others, had no choice but to withdraw our diplomatic presence in Khartoum when armed violence commenced in April 2023. The UK remains committed to finding a solution to end the conflict in Sudan. On the two-year point of the conflict, on 15 April, the Foreign Secretary hosted international partners and stakeholders at the London Sudan Conference, which focussed on spotlighting the dire human cost of the conflict, achieving progress on humanitarian access and building consensus among the international community behind a regionally led process.

We continue to maintain a diplomatic presence in Juba, South Sudan. We are keeping the situation under regular review. We are deeply concerned by the increasingly fragile security situation and have urged President Kiir and all those with influence over armed groups, to de-escalate, to release First Vice President Machar and to implement the 2018 peace agreement.