Turkey and Egypt ready to fully rebuild relations after ten years of differences

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu I came to Egypt on March 18 to meet with a colleague. Samehom Sukru. As a result of the talks, it was agreed to prepare a meeting between the two heads of state in the second half of the year.

Consultations between representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs began two years ago. A Turkish delegation visited Egypt for talks to normalize relations as part of Ankara’s desire to de-escalate tensions with Cairo, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

Çavuşoğlu’s current visit is the first official visit of the Turkish Foreign Minister to Egypt in the last 10 years. Sameh Shukri said at a joint press conference that the diplomatic missions of the two countries are expected to resume their work in the near future.

Çavuşoğlu’s visit came in response to Şükrü’s visit to the southern Turkish city of Adana in February to show Cairo’s solidarity with the devastated republic. The meeting of presidents will put an end to a period of alienation and misunderstanding, according to the Turkish Foreign Minister.

Relations between the two countries deteriorated after the 2013 coup in Egypt. As a result of the overthrow Mohammed Morsi a high-ranking soldier came to power Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Turkey president Recep Tayyip Erdogan He refused to recognize Egypt’s new president as the legitimate ruler. Countries have reduced diplomatic relations to the level of chargé d’affaires.

Ankara accused Egyptian authorities of establishing a de facto dictatorial regime in the country with the arrival of al-Sisi. Egypt’s claims were based on the fact that Turkey supported the Muslim Brotherhood✱ (banned in the Russian Federation). In addition, there are some contradictions between countries in various aspects.

So one of the questions is about the deal between the Sudanese president, who was overthrown in 2019. Omar al-Bashir and Erdogan on the joint restoration of part of the port city of Suakin, located near Egyptian territorial waters. Cairo expresses its concern that Turkey’s presence on its southern border could contribute to the strengthening of the Muslim Brotherhood in the region.

There are differences of opinion between countries on the use of the eastern part of the Mediterranean. In January 2019, the Energy Ministers of Italy, Egypt, Greece, Cyprus, Israel, Jordan and Palestine met in Cairo to form the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum. The headquarters of the organization is located in the capital of Egypt. The participants agreed to mutually comply with each other’s interests in the mining field. In addition, it was decided to support the agreement members in meeting their energy needs. The terms of the agreement mean that any country ready to abide by the rules approved by the founders of the agreement can participate in the forum.

Ankara did not receive an invitation to the organization and the ideas of the forum do not correspond to its interests. In his statement, the President of Turkey noted that international actors cannot lay a geological exploration and natural gas pipeline in the eastern part of the Mediterranean without the permission of the republic.

It is also necessary to mention the confrontation between the countries in Syria. Official Cairo government supports beshar Esad. Pro-Turkish militant groups operating in the northwest of the Arab Republic are linked to Ankara. In 2019, Egypt condemned Turkey’s military invasion of the PA and called an extraordinary meeting of the Arab League to develop a position on Turkey’s offensive in Syria.

Contradictions between the countries intensified after hostilities intensified in 2019 in Libya, where Ankara and Cairo support opposing sides.

Despite the difficult relations between the two countries, the commercial interaction between them never stopped. In 2022, Turkey imported 4 billion dollars worth of products from Egypt. Also, according to the statements made by the Egyptian authorities in February 2023, the Turkish business has committed to invest $500 million in Egyptian projects.

President Erdogan and Al-Sisi shook hands during the meeting, which was seen by Egypt as the beginning of a new relationship between the two countries, at the World Cup held in Qatar in November 2022.