
Egypt and Turkey took another step towards mending relations when Ankara’s top diplomat Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, visited Cairo on Saturday and held talks with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry, for the first time since ties were ruptured a decade ago.
Relations were severely strained in 2013 after Egypt’s then-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi led the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Mursi, an ally of Ankara, to get overthrown, but have gradually thawed since 2021.
At a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart, the Egyptian FM said talks with Turkey on the possibility of restoring ties to the ambassadorial level would happen at “the appropriate time”.
He added that the talks had been “honest, deep, and transparent”.FM Sameh Shoukry receives Turkish FM Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu at the Egyptian Foreign Ministry premise at Tahrir Palace…The two FMs are holding now a closed bilateral meeting @MevlutCavusoglu
— Egypt MFA Spokesperson (@MfaEgypt) March 18, 2023
@MFATurkiye pic.twitter.com/Ct4lCIia0Z
Opened a new chapter w/ #Egypt, a country w/ which we have historical ties. We will:
— Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (@MevlutCavusoglu) March 18, 2023
- Elevate diplomatic relations to the highest level,
- Further develop cooperation in economy, trade, tourism & energy,
- Increase consultations and cooperation on regional matters.🇹🇷🇪🇬 pic.twitter.com/xmFqIG9o3E