Egypt and Turkey… the continuation of the rapprochement between the two countries
Following the meeting between Egypt and Turkey Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the former seemed optimistic about the prospects for relations with Egypt, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi last September 10.
He told reporters on his way back to his country that the meeting was “very positive,” adding that Turkey wants to strengthen relations with Cairo. He revealed that the Turkish and Egyptian foreign ministers, and the intelligence chiefs, will arrange dates for exchanging presidential visits during the coming period.
The newly appointed Turkish ambassador to Cairo, Salih Mutlu Sen, quoted Erdogan as saying that Egypt and Turkey will increase bilateral trade and revive their strategic cooperation council, expressing his optimism in the ability of the two countries to achieve positive results on many regional issues.
However, some observers in Cairo believe that talking about and hoping for complete reconciliation between Egypt and Turkey is easier than achieving it, and they cite what they describe as “fundamental differences” between the two countries.
The context of deterioration in bilateral relations
Erdogan’s meeting with Sisi in New Delhi was the second between the two leaders, after a Qatari-brokered meeting in Doha in November 2022, during the opening of the FIFA World Cup.
Relations between Egypt and Turkey deteriorated significantly after the Egyptian army, with popular support, overthrew Mohamed Morsi, who was one of the prominent members of the Muslim Brotherhood, in 2013, which Egypt later banned and classified as a terrorist organization. Erdogan has publicly protested Morsi’s ouster and defended the group’s leaders and members, some of whom have been convicted of horrific crimes, such as the killing of Egyptian police and military officers.
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