Islamabad, 15 February 2024 (TDI): President of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Egypt after his last visit in 2012. He was welcomed by Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi at Cairo International Airport.
President Erdogan expressed the pleasure of visiting Cairo upon the kind invitation of al-Sisi offering gratitude for the hospitality to the Turkish delegation. Leaders discussed bilateral relations and regional development regarding the war in Gaza.
Moreover, President Erdogan stressed that both countries shared history and, based on that, they are going to boost relations. Presidents have already elevated the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council to the President level and agreed to hold the first meeting in Ankara.
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Economically, trade will be boosted up to 15 dollars and investments up to $3 billion. Significant efforts will be made in the areas of culture, tourism, and education.
Furthermore, President Erdogan stressed that the Cairo office of Yunus Emre Institute registered 22000 Egyptian students for Turkish language courses.
Erdogan repeated that Israel must refrain from committing crimes that would result in genocide in Gaza. He stressed that Egypt and Turkiye work together for the recovery and reconstruction of Gaza.
He also thanked all Egyptian institutions for the delivery of aid to Gaza. He said that both countries would work together to build a field hospital in Gaza.
End of Decade Long Rift
Egypt and Turkey severed diplomatic relations in 2013 following the ousting of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi by Sisi, who was then Egypt’s defense minister.
Morsi, an ally of Turkey and associated with the Muslim Brotherhood movement, was removed from power. The two leaders declared each other as persona non-grata.
Since 2022, relations started to improve. For the first time, presidents briefly met during the World Cup in Qatar 2022.
Besides the Palestinian-Israel issue, the Turkiye-Egypt reproachment is a significant step in keeping another hotspot on the table and endeavoring to solve these regional issues.
Also, Turkiye’s economic situation forced them to recover relations with those who were undesirable in some moments despite high inflation in the country. To break the mistrust developed over 10 years, Turkey agreed to provide Egypt with defense industry equipment.
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