Erdoğan to visit Kuwait next week

The visit will take place on April 27-28, with Erdoğan meeting the sheikh on the second day of his visit. 

In addition to bilateral relations, regional developments concerning Syria and Yemen will be on the agenda of Erdoğan’s meetings with Sheikh al-Sabah and other senior officials, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency.

Potential projects for developing cooperation in the fields of trade, contracting services and the defense industry will also be on the agenda, as Erdoğan is expected to gather with business leaders as well. 

Kuwait is a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which lent support to Egypt under President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in December 2014, whose crackdown on the Doha-backed Muslim Brotherhood divided the Gulf monarchies for months.

In early March, Erdoğan said Saudi Arabia, another GCC member, wants Turkey to make peace with Egypt, which is the only disagreement between Ankara and Riyadh.

Erdoğan’s remarks came following a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s new King Salman during a visit to Riyadh.
Erdoğan’s meeting with King Salman came shortly after el-Sisi held talks with the monarch in Riyadh.

Turkish-Egyptian relations have been chilly since Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi was ousted by el-Sisi in 2013. While Cairo accuses Turkey of interfering in Egypt’s internal affairs and supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, Turkey denounces el-Sisi for “overthrowing an elected government through undemocratic means.”

In sign of growing bilateral relations between Kuwait and Egypt, as recently as early April, Egypt signed a loan agreement worth 60 million Kuwaiti dinars (around $199.4 million) with the Kuwait-based Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development.