ANKARA: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi arrived in Ankara on Wednesday for talks with his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan, the first such presidential visit in 12 years, amid a warming of long-frozen relations between the regional powers.
Erdogan had travelled to Cairo in February, his first trip to Egypt since 2012, taking an important step towards rebuilding ties that had been severely strained for a decade.
Relations between Ankara and Cairo fell apart in 2013 after then-Egyptian army chief Sisi led the overthrow of Mohamed Mursi, a Turkish ally of the Muslim Brotherhood who had become Egypt's first democratically elected president the previous year. Mursi visited Turkey as president in 2012.
“Relations between Turkey and Egypt will be reviewed in all aspects and possible joint steps will be discussed in the coming period to further develop cooperation,” the Turkish presidential communications office said on Tuesday evening.
“There will be an exchange of views on current regional and global issues, especially the Israeli attacks on Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories.”
Erdogan met Sisi at Ankara airport before they left together in Erdogan's motorcade to the presidential palace for a welcoming ceremony. They will also chair the first meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council between Turkey and Egypt.
A joint press conference is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. (14:00 GMT).
In a statement, Sisi said his visit – and Erdogan's in February – showed the common will of Ankara and Cairo to launch a new phase of friendship and cooperation.
Ties between the two countries began to thaw in 2020, when Ankara launched a diplomatic offensive to ease tensions with estranged regional rivals including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Turkey and Egypt renewed each other's ambassadors last year, and Ankara has said it will provide Cairo with armed drones. Erdogan said in Cairo that the countries wanted to increase annual trade by between $5 billion and $15 billion in the short term.
The Turkish state-owned company Anadolu Iran's news agency reported that the two countries will sign around 20 agreements during Sisi's visit to cooperate in energy, defense, tourism, health, culture and education. Cooperation is also expected to be deepened in renewable energy and liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Turkey, which has condemned Israel for its war against Hamas, has sent thousands of tons of aid to Egypt for the Palestinians and praised Cairo's humanitarian efforts and its role as a negotiator in Gaza truce talks.
