Egypt: New conditions for registering doctors clash with the government’s plans to increase the number of graduates

Between the halls of international meetings and the skies of Sudanese cities, an unequal race is accelerating... mediations trying to extract a truce that opens a way to end the war... and marches that expand the scope of the bombing and double its cost on civilians.

While the United States and its partners seek to unify peace efforts, both sides of the war are still betting on the battlefield, amid warnings of the conflict spreading regionally. Which is closer to reality: a truce that diplomacy succeeds in concluding, or the continuation of a war whose fronts expand and whose tools are renewed?

The sixth consultative meeting on Sudan, hosted by Geneva on October 21, provided an enlarged picture of the size of the diplomatic mobilization around the crisis. It brought together the countries of the Quartet, the Quintet, the major powers, neighboring countries, and sponsors of peace initiatives. The meeting adjourned, and the question remained about the ability of the participants to transform this consensus into measures that change the behavior of the combatants and their supporters.

The US President's senior advisor for Arab and African affairs, Massad Boulos, summarized the American message in a post on his account on the "X" platform, after the meeting, saying that "the Sudan war must end, and there is no military solution to the conflict," warning that its continuation doubles the devastating cost on civilians, and threatens the spread of more instability to the region. He explained that Washington's support for the efforts of the Quintet (the United Nations, the African and European Unions, IGAD, and the Arab League) in facilitating a comprehensive and credible political process with Sudanese ownership, complements its work within the Quartet (the United States, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt) to push for a humanitarian truce that leads to a permanent ceasefire.

On the other side of the scene, the statements of Army Commander Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan reveal the continued bet on decisiveness. In his last speech in Wadi Halfa, he renewed his refusal to negotiate with the Rapid Support, placing its disarmament and surrender in the face of continued military operations.

Following criticism of the admission of “low-level” students to medical colleges, and warnings of the dangers of the presence of unqualified graduates to the health sector, new union conditions have emerged for the registration of doctors, but they may clash with the government’s plans to increase the number of graduates. On Friday evening, the General Assembly of the General Syndicate of Egyptian Physicians took a number of decisions related to union registration and criteria for accepting medical college students.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres began a visit to Cairo on Saturday, hoping that it will contribute to resolving the region's crises, as he prepares the papers for his departure soon after years full of challenges, especially the Gaza war. The visit included meetings with Egyptian officials and a visit to the Arab League “as part of an international movement searching for a solution to the region’s crises based on the importance of Egypt’s role, status and communications.”