Sudan says it’s boycotting new GERD talks over Ethiopian unilateralism — will Egypt follow suit? Sudan will not attend a new round of talks over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) slated for today, citing Ethiopia’s refusal to commit to a filling timetable for the dam’s reservoir, one of the key sticking points, Al Arabiya reports, citing an unnamed government source. As of yesterday, Egypt had not yet formally announced whether it would attend today’s talks, Al Shorouk reports, citing an unnamed official source. The source stressed that Egypt’s position remains unchanged and that Ethiopia was not committing to past agreements. Ethiopian Foreign Ministry spokesman Dina Mufti had said on Friday that Addis Ababa would not sign an agreement that allocates specific Nile water shares to countries downstream of the GERD. The last round of African-Union sponsored talks between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan ended in mid-July without the sides reaching an agreement.

ElSewedy subsidiary signs USD 38.6 mn contract to build energy substation in DR Congo: ElSewedy Electric for Transmission and Distribution of Energy — a subsidiary of ElSewedy Electric — signed a USD 38.6 mn contract with DR Congo’s Societe Nationale d'Electricite to build a high-voltage distribution substation in Kasumbalesa City, according to a disclosure (pdf). The project will connect DR Congo’s electricity grid with the Southern Africa Power Pool, as well as increase the province’s electricity supply.

The Egyptian Cotton Exporters Union signed contracts worth USD 154 mn since the beginning of the season last September, union member Nabil El Sentrisi told Al Mal. The union expects around 10% of the export contracts to be canceled as the pandemic weighs on global markets.