First modification: Last modification:
During a visit to Cairo this Sunday, March 19, the Turkish foreign minister announced a meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, which will take place “after the Turkish elections.” A meeting that is seen as a step towards the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between Ankara and Cairo, after years of hostilities.
Will it be the first step to end a decade of diplomatic estrangement between Turkey and Egypt? In any case, this was the objective stated during the press conference held in Cairo this Saturday, March 18, between the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Sameh Choukri, and his Turkish counterpart, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.
The latter assured “he wants to restore diplomatic relations between the two countries at the highest level.” And he added: “We may disagree in the future, but we will do our best to avoid breaking our relations again.”
Choukri confirmed “a political will expressed by the presidents of the two countries (…) aimed at normalizing their relations.”
A meeting between Erdogan and Al-Sisi is coming
During the press conference, Çavuşoğlu assured that “after the Turkish elections”, including the presidential one scheduled for May 14, the “president (Recep Tayyip Erdogan) will meet with President Al-Sisi”.
“We have opened a new page in our relations with Egypt, with whom we have deep ties”the Turkish minister said on Twitter.
Köklü bağlarımız olan Mısır’la ilişkilerimizde yeni bir sayfa açtık.
– Diplomatik ilişkilerimizi in üst seviyeye çıkaracağız,
– Ekonomi, ticaret, enerji ve turizm alanlarında işbirliğimizi geliştireceğiz,
– Bölgesel konularda istişareleri ve işbirliğimizi artıracağız.🇹🇷🇪🇬 pic.twitter.com/WpAxyQ4YIi
— Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (@MevlutCavusoglu) March 18, 2023
The United States, for its part, “welcomed” this visit. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on his Twitter account that this is “an important step for the stability and prosperity of the region.”
We welcome today’s visit to Cairo by Turkey’s FM @mevlutcavusoglu for meetings @MFAEgypt with FM Shoukrey, the first such visit in over a decade. An important step towards a more stable and prosperous region.
—Jake Sullivan (@JakeSullivan46) March 18, 2023
The breakdown of relations in 2013
Relations between Ankara and Cairo broke off abruptly after Abdel Fattah al-Sisi came to power in 2013. The latter’s removal of Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi, a Muslim Brotherhood member and close ally of Turkey, angered Erdogan. The president even asserted: “never” talk to “someone like” Abdel Fatah al-Sisi.
However, in the aftermath of the February 6 earthquake that killed nearly 48,500 people in Turkey, the two leaders spoke on the phone after exchanging their first handshake in November, at the World Cup in Qatar, another country with which they Egypt recently renewed ties after accusing him of his closeness to the Muslim Brotherhood.
For his part, Çavuşoğlu had received his Egyptian counterpart at the end of February in Turkey, shortly after the earthquake.
divergent interests
Trade between Egypt and Turkey has never ceased, rising from $4.4 billion in 2007 to $11.1 billion in 2020, according to the Carnegie Research Center. In 2022, Ankara was even the first importer of Egyptian products worth four billion dollars.
But disagreements persist between the two countries. Cairo accuses Istanbul of having become “the capital” of the Arab media critical of their governments.
The interests of Cairo and Ankara also diverge in Libya, where Turkey has sent military advisers and drones against Marshal Khalifa Haftar, an Eastern strongman, supported in particular by Egypt.
with AFP
This article was adapted from its original in French.
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