Türkiye, Egypt to raise diplomatic ties to highest level soon: Turkish FM

CAIRO

Ankara and Cairo will raise diplomatic relations to the highest level “as soon as possible,” Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on March 18, noting that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, could meet after the elections in Türkiye as part of efforts to end of a decade of estrangement between the two countries.

“I’m very glad that we are taking concrete steps for normalizing relations with Egypt... We will do our best not to rupture our ties again in the future,” Çavuşoğlu said at a press conference with his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry.

In his first such trip in a decade, Çavuşoğlu said, “We will, over a short period of time, develop our diplomatic relations step by step. There is a genuine and sincere political will to develop these relations.”

“Maybe President Erdogan and Sisi will meet right after the elections. They will decide their timing,” he said.

The minister noted that Türkiye and Egypt were discussing the reappointment of ambassadors. “We had the opportunity to evaluate which steps we would take and when,” he said.

Diplomatic relations between Türkiye and Egypt are maintained at the level of charges d’affaires on both sides since 2013 after a military coup by el-Sisi overthrew the late President Mohammed Morsi.

Çavuşoğlu said they also discussed international issues, particularly Palestine, terrorism and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, and stressed the role of Cairo on the issues concerning Palestine and the Arab world. Even in the days of strained ties between Ankara and Cairo, Türkiye had always underlined the importance of Egypt, he noted.

Çavuşoğlu thanked the Egyptian government and people for the support they gave after Feb. 6 earthquakes.

The development of Turkish-Egyptian relations is in the interest of both countries, Shoukry said for his part and stressed that relations would be normalized “at the appropriate time.”

“We have solid ground, and we are confident that we will re-establish strong relations with Türkiye,” he said, adding that they discussed the resumption of ties and appointment of ambassadors.

The two ministers wished to keep communication channels between the two countries open and continue coordination, he added.

Elaborating on bilateral economic ties, Shoukry said, “There were Turkish investments in various fields in Egypt. In the past years, the trade volume between the two countries has increased to $9 billion. This is an important figure for both countries. In fact, Türkiye’s investments in Egypt have reached $2.5 billion.”

They also discussed normalization between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Palestine, and the reflections of the Syria, Libya, and Ukraine-Russia war, Shoukry stated.