El Sisi says Egypt will pursue GERD negotiations, denounces calls for military action: Egypt is still committed to breaking the deadlock on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) through negotiations, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said yesterday, according to MENA. Speaking during the inauguration of the Roubiki industrial zone, the president denounced calls in “the media” to resort to military action over the dam, saying that ongoing talks are aimed at reaching an agreement that doesn’t threaten Egypt’s water security. El Sisi made similar remarks last week in his speech commemorating the 23 July Revolution. Bloomberg also had the story.

Egypt is also investing around EGP 1 tn to cut down on water waste and improve the utilization of our resources, El Sisi said.

Kamel heads to Sudan: Egypt’s Intelligence chief Abbas Kamel was in Khartoum yesterday for talks with Sudan’s prime minister Abdalla Hamdok, Sudan’s state news agency SUNA reported. The report offered little details about the substance of the meeting, saying only that it came “within the framework of bilateral relations.” This came as the Sudanese cabinet held a meeting to discuss the potential effects of Ethiopia unilaterally filling the dam’s reservoir on the country’s water supply.

And Shoukry has been reaching out to US lawmakers: A Foreign Ministry statement said yesterday that Minister Sameh Shoukry had held talks with a number of senior lawmakers about the status of negotiations with Ethiopia as well as the situation in Libya.

Also from the president’s remarks yesterday :

• The president urged citizens against getting lax with social distancing and precautionary measures as covid-19 case and death counts drop, saying that the government could decide to re-impose the lockdown if numbers start to rise significantly again.
• Egypt wants to push its exports of locally manufactured goods to “at least” USD 100 bn within the next few years and will upgrade all spinning and weaving factories in El Mahalla within two years.