Port Sudan SAF junta- appointed Sudanese Prime Minister Kamil Idris’ planned Sept 15 visit to Riyadh drew scrutiny after a series of protocol and scheduling lapses, culminating in a last-minute postponement when Idris fell ill and was taken to hospital for treatment, according to officials.
The trip coincided with an emergency Arab-Islamic summit in Doha, led by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Diplomatic convention typically prioritizes such summits, with bilateral meetings either rescheduled or shifted to the summit’s sidelines. Sudanese officials did not adjust the timing or arrange a sideline meeting, a choice that left the visit’s prospects uncertain from the outset.
The episode also highlighted coordination gaps between the two countries’ foreign ministries. Standard protocol calls for formal note exchanges to confirm timing, reception level and meeting schedules. The absence of a clearly finalized process fed perceptions that arrangements were incomplete.
While Idris’ sudden illness was the immediate trigger for the postponement, the lack of a contingency plan deepened the disruption. No alternate envoy or minister was publicly empowered to carry talks forward, and no swift joint statement was issued to preserve momentum, as is customary in similar cases.
Diplomats point out that major summits often serve as efficient venues for high-level bilaterals and that unforeseen delays are manageable when backup plans are in place. In this case, adherence to basic protocol—tight inter-ministerial coordination, careful timing and a prepared fallback—might have avoided the optics of an aborted visit.
