Ethiopia is ready to once again resume talks on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), a spokesperson for Sudan’s foreign ministry, Dina Mufti, told Sky News Arabia (watch, runtime: 00:20). “We are expecting the current African Union head to send delegations to Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia to hold talks regarding the GERD issue,” he said. Last month, the UN Security Council issued a statement on the dispute over the GERD, urging Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan to return to the negotiating table under the auspices of the AU despite many months of Ethiopia ghosting us with no fallout from the AU.

In other diplo news, Shoukry attends AU gathering, talks Egypt’s support during covid: Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry yesterday took part in the Mid-Year Coordination Meeting between the African Union, the Regional Economic Committees and the Regional Mechanisms, the foreign ministry said in a statement. The minister, who attended on behalf of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, touched on covid-19 and noted that Egypt contributed to funding the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), which was active throughout the pandemic.