Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi engaged in discussions regarding the Gaza war and potential strategies for reestablishing the previously strained relationships between the two regional powers during their meeting in Ankara, in the first presidential visit in twelve years.
Ankara and Cairo’s relations came to collapse in 2013, when Egypt’s then-army chief Sisi led the ousting of Mohamed Mursi, a Turkish ally who had become Egypt’s first democratically elected president.
After Ankara’s diplomatic push to defuse tensions with its estranged regional rivals, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, ties between the two nations started to warm up in 2020.
Türkiye announced last year that it would supply Cairo with armed drones, and the two countries also reappointed their ambassadors to each other. In February, Erdogan made his first visit to Egypt since 2012, traveling to Cairo.
On Wednesday, Erdoğan and Sisi convened at Ankara airport. Then, they proceeded to the presidential palace in the same vehicle for approximately two hours of talks.
Ministers from the two countries signed eighteen memoranda of understanding pertaining to energy, defense, tourism, health, agriculture, finance, culture, education, and transportation.
Erdogan said at a joint press conference that Türkiye and Egypt wanted to increase trade by $5 billion to $15 billion in five years.
Sisi said that they also discussed Libya, a region where both countries have been involved in an ongoing conflict and have supported opposing factions.
