Türkiye, Egypt open a new page in ties
ANKARA
Türkiye and Egypt have agreed to open a new page in ties after a decade-old tension during a historic visit by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Cairo, where he had talks with President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.
The two countries decided to resume the functions of the high-level strategic council at the level of presidents with a joint target to increase the trade volume to $15 billion as soon as possible.
“We are determined to increase the level of the relationship between our countries. We are satisfied to observe the same strong will on the Egyptian side,” Erdoğan said at a press conference with el-Sissi after the talks.
The two leaders signed a joint declaration that underlines the beginning of a new era in ties and the importance of the improvement of bilateral dialogue for regional and global issues. The declaration also announced the resumption of the Türkiye-Egypt High-Level Strategic Council.
“We wish to convene the strategic council in a very short period of time in Ankara. I believe this will constitute a milestone in our ties,” the Turkish president said. El-Sissi, for his part, informed his intention to come to Türkiye in April upon the invitation of Erdoğan.
On economy, Erdoğan and el-Sissi both outlined their objective to raise the trade volume to $15 billion as well as around $3 billion worth of Turkish investments in Egypt.
“I believe there is serious potential for cooperation in the field of defense industry. Egypt has significant investments in this field. I think we can strengthen our cooperation through joint projects,” Erdoğan suggested.
On the bilateral front, el-Sissi also underlined Cairo’s willingness to further deepen ties with Türkiye. “All these mean opening a new page in our ties,” he said, adding the two countries can also cooperate in the African continent. “We are willing to launch new cooperation areas,” he added.
Cooperation for Palestinians
Erdoğan said they have extensively discussed the situation in Gaza with el-Sissi. Thanking the Egyptian government for their assistance in allowing Turkish humanitarian aid into Gaza, Erdoğan renewed his calls for an immediate end to the military offensive of the Israeli army against the Palestinian civilians.
“Israel’s plans to expel Palestinians from Gaza are null and void for us. We hail and support Egypt’s determined position on this,” he said, urging Israel once again not to attack Rafah City.
Ankara, Cairo to be in contact for regional peace
El-Sissi, for his part, recalled the need for launching peace efforts in the Middle East that would result in the establishment of a sovereign Palestine State on the basis of 1967 borders with east Jerusalem as its capital.
“For this, we will continue to work with Türkiye,” he said.
The two leaders also discussed other regional matters, including Libya, Sudan and Somalia. “We are of the same opinion that parliamentary and presidential elections should take place in Libya and the security forces should be reunited,” el-Sissi said.
Erdoğan assured that Türkiye’s sole purpose is to see an end to the conflicts in the Middle East and Africa. “We are determined to increase our contacts with Egypt at all levels for reaching peace and stability in our region,” he added.
