For years there was a diplomatic ice age between the two countries – now Turkey and Egypt want to get closer again. Turkish President Erdogan spoke of a “turning point” during a visit to Cairo.
After years of tension, Egypt and Turkey want to further improve their relations. Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his Turkish colleague Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke in Cairo in favor of “a new stage in relations.” They also advocated an increase in trade to the equivalent of almost 14 billion euros annually within a few years and diplomatic cooperation in the Middle East and Africa.
“I am convinced that this visit will be a new turning point in our relations,” Erdogan said at a joint press conference. Al-Sisi spoke of a “new chapter” in the relations between the two countries. He wants to travel to Turkey in April at Erdogan’s invitation.
demand for armistice in the Gaza Strip
Both presidents agreed on the war between Israel and the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Erdogan and al-Sisi criticized Israel’s conduct of the war and called for a ceasefire. Turkey will work with Egypt to stop the bloodshed, Erdogan said. Israeli attacks on Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip are “madness” that should not be allowed.
More than a million refugees from other parts of the Palestinian territory are stranded in the city right on the border with Egypt due to Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Al-Sisi criticized “Israel’s obstacles” that are causing humanitarian aid to arrive too slowly in the Gaza Strip. Egypt controls the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip. Israel insists on controlling every aid delivery. Egypt, along with Qatar and the United States, is an important mediator in efforts to secure the release of Israeli hostages from the Gaza Strip and a new ceasefire in the coastal strip.
Rapprochement after a strained relationship
The visit was the culmination of years of efforts to improve relations between the countries. Last year they each appointed ambassadors again. In addition, Turkey announced at the beginning of 2024 that it would support Egypt with military drones. The rapprochement came as part of a turnaround in Turkish foreign policy after the leadership found itself very isolated regionally. Al-Sisi and Erdogan met on the sidelines of the World Cup in Qatar at the end of 2022, but it was the Turkish president’s first visit to Egypt since 2012.
The political dispute escalated in 2013. At that time, the Turkish government repeatedly described the army’s deposition of the then Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in Egypt as an illegitimate “military coup.” After Morsi, Al-Sisi came to power. The Egyptian leadership in turn accused Turkey of supporting Islamist organizations such as the Muslim Brotherhood in the region. Egypt is taking very harsh measures against their supporters, and many are in prison. Both countries withdrew their ambassadors in 2013.
Egypt and Turkey also support different sides in the Libya war. There are also disputes over natural gas deposits that are suspected in the eastern Mediterranean.