Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi issues including the war in the Gaza Strip and ways to mend relations between the two countries during talks in Ankara, in Sisi’s first visit to Turkey since assuming the presidency of Egypt.
Relations between Ankara and Cairo deteriorated in 2013 after Sisi, then Egypt’s military chief, ousted President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood following mass protests against his one-year rule. Morsi, an ally of Turkey and described as Egypt’s first democratically elected president, visited Turkey as president in 2012.
Relations between the two countries began to improve in 2020 when Ankara launched a diplomatic campaign to ease tensions with regional powers, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Last year, Turkey and Egypt exchanged ambassadors, and Ankara announced it would supply Cairo with armed drones.
Sisi’s visit to Turkey comes after Erdogan’s visit to Cairo in February, his first to Egypt since 2012, taking a major step toward rebuilding relations that have been severely strained over a decade.
Erdogan said at the time, while in Cairo, that the two countries wanted to boost trade to $15 billion in the near term from $10 billion.
Erdogan received Sisi at Ankara airport on Wednesday, before they left together in a motorcade in the same car to the presidential palace to attend the reception ceremony and hold talks for about two hours.
“With a win-win mindset, we will push forward our multidimensional relations,” Erdogan said, adding that Ankara particularly wants to strengthen ties with Egypt in the areas of natural gas and nuclear energy.
Ministers from the two countries signed 18 memoranda of understanding on cooperation in various fields, including energy, defense, tourism, health, agriculture, finance, culture, education and transportation.
Erdogan reiterated in a joint press conference Turkey and Egypt’s desire to increase annual trade between them by $5 billion to $15 billion over the next five years.
He added that Ankara and Cairo have a “common position” on the Palestinian issue, and Sisi said they call for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and an end to violence in the West Bank.
Turkey, which has denounced Israel for its war in the Gaza Strip, has sent thousands of tons of aid to Egypt for the Palestinians and has praised Cairo’s humanitarian efforts and its role as a negotiator and mediator in talks to reach a ceasefire and release the hostages.
Sisi said they also discussed the situation in Libya. The two countries are on opposite sides of the conflict, with each supporting opposing sides in the conflict.
He continued, “We exchanged views on the Libyan crisis and agreed to consult between our institutions to achieve security and political stability in Libya, while stressing the importance of turning the page on this protracted crisis by holding presidential and legislative elections simultaneously, withdrawing illegal foreign forces and mercenaries from the country, and ending the phenomenon of armed militias so that sisterly Libya can end the manifestations of division and achieve security and stability.”
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