Senior Egyptian official due in Ankara for ties

ANKARA

Turkey and Egypt will hold the second round of political consultations next week in Ankara as part of mutual efforts to mend broken ties.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry announced on Aug. 31 that Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt Hamdi Loza will be in Ankara on Sept. 7-8 and will meet Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Önal on Sept. 7 and 8.

During the talks, bilateral and regional issues will be discussed,” read the ministry's statement.

The first round of talks took place in Cairo on May 5 and 6 and was described as “positive” by both sides.

Egypt and Turkey have been at loggerheads since a military coup staged by Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi toppled Egypt’s first democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi in mid-2013. Turkey strongly condemned the coup and slammed Sisi, who later became the head of Egypt. Cairo expelled Turkey’s ambassador while Ankara downgraded relations in a tit-for-tat move, further fraying ties.

The two countries also sparred over a range of other issues, including the war in Libya, where they backed rival sides and maritime disputes in the eastern Mediterranean.

The efforts to normalize ties between the two countries started last year through a dialogue established by the intelligence services of the respective countries.