Egyptian-Turkish relations

Egyptian-Turkish relations

The Middle East region is witnessing a reshaping of political relations between its countries on a pragmatic basis that goes beyond partisan alignments and external interference in the crises resulting from what was called at the time the “Arab Spring” for a decade, until the crises of the Corona epidemic, the Ukrainian war, and the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria came to recalibrate priorities and form A window to restore broken relationships and rearrange common interests.

Egyptian-Turkish diplomatic relations were restored following a phone call from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to congratulate Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his re-election as President of Turkey for a new presidential term. They agreed to immediately start upgrading diplomatic relations between the two countries and exchanging ambassadors.

The Egyptian-Turkish relations passed through the fall of 2014, and as a result of the tension in relations, diplomatic relations between the two countries were severed, and the political dispute intensified over regional files in which Egyptian and Turkish politics intersect or parallel, such as the file of energy security and regional security, and the relationship between the two countries turned into a model of the Cold War. which was reflected in the regional files. However, Turkey returned in an attempt to restore the policy of “zeroing problems” with its surroundings, in pursuit of its political, economic and strategic interests.

In 2021, the Egyptian-Turkish relations witnessed developments that began with positive Turkish statements, followed by practical steps, as Turkey imposed a number of controls on journalists affiliated with the “Brotherhood” organization regarding stopping incitement against Egypt, which the Egyptian government considered as a response gesture from Ankara towards seriousness in normalizing relations. Relations between the two countries.

During two years of negotiations, which began with sending a Turkish delegation to Egypt, and this was followed by the visit of an Egyptian delegation to Turkey. Relations developed towards re-normalization, after the meeting of the presidents of the two countries on the sidelines of the opening of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, and the two presidents also spoke on the phone in the wake of the earthquakes in Turkey a month Last February, then Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry visited Turkey in April, where he met his Turkish counterpart, and they agreed on a specific time frame to raise the level of diplomatic relations and prepare for a summit meeting between the two countries.

Egypt and Turkey, by virtue of their location, history and culture, constitute a center of gravity and stability in the eastern Mediterranean, and they share many files, and the steps of consensus and cooperation in these files would change the regional balance of power. There is no doubt that the normalization of relations between Turkey and Egypt is a step that stems from a common interest, and is compatible with the regional and international changes that drive reconciliation and regional calm.

Aisha Al Marri*
Emirati writer