Shoukry attends AU summit: Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry was in Addis Ababa yesterday for the annual African Union (AU) summit, which brought the continent’s 55 countries together to discuss food and energy security, climate change and the African Continental Trade Agreement. The session also saw Senegal hand the AU presidency to the Comoros. During the summit, Shoukry discussed:

• the situation in Libya with Tunisian foreign minister Nabil Ammar;
• the dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) with the UN’s envoy to the Horn of Africa, Hanna Tetteh;
• the new AU presidency with his Comorian counterpart Dhoihir Dhoulkamal.

The attending Israeli delegation didn’t make it past the opening ceremony: The senior diplomat representing Israel — which was granted AU observer status in 2021 — was ejected from the summit’s opening ceremony yesterday. An AU spokesperson said the diplomat was removed because she was not the accredited Israeli ambassador to Ethiopia, but the Israeli foreign ministry blamed “extremist states” Algeria and South Africa, as well as Iran.

Speaking of Israel:

• Int’l leaders condemn new Israeli settlements: The decision by Israel’s new far-right government to legalize nine settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank has drawn international condemnation.
• Israeli president issues stark warning: Israeli president Isaac Herzog last week warned of the country’s “societal and constitutional collapse” as protests against the new far-right government’s judicial reforms grew. (Times of Israel)

ALSO FROM THE DIPLOSPHERE-

• Kenya has asked for Egypt’s backing for its efforts to “activate” the African Continental Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), in a letter sent by Kenyan President William Ruto to President El Sisi, according to a statement by Ittihadiya.
• A new president in Nicosia: El Sisi congratulated Nikos Christodoulides on his victory in the Cypriot presidential elections last week, Ittihadiya said.