Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, right, meets with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu at Tahrir Palace in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, March 18, 2023. The meeting is the first such high-level in more than a decade as the countries repair relations damaged in the wake of the 2011 Arab Spring.
(Photo Credit: Amr Nabil/AP)
Turkiye’s Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, met with his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, for official talks on Saturday, 18 March.
The meeting is deemed a vital step to mend political ties between the two countries and is the first of its kind in over a decade.
“In the meetings, all aspects of our bilateral relations will be discussed, and views on regional and international issues will be exchanged,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.
During the joint press conference, Shoukry announced that his country is working to normalize relations with Turkiye and start a new phase of cooperation.
“We have solid ground, and we are confident that we will restore relations with Turkey in a strong way,” he added.
The Egyptian foreign minister also highlighted the desire to restore cooperation with Turkiye on all political and economic levels.
In addition, Cavusoglu said that his country is planning to exchange ambassadors with Egypt once again after Egypt expelled the Turkish ambassador on 23 November 2013 while recalling its own due to repeated criticism by the Turkish president following the ouster of Mohamed Morsi.
In a statement on Friday, Abu Zeid, the spokesman for Egypt’s foreign ministry, said that Cavusoglu’s visit marks “the inauguration of the path of restoring normal relations between the two countries.”
Following the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Syria and Turkiye, Sameh Shoukry visited Turkiye’s Adana and Mersin provinces, the first time an Egyptian foreign minister visited Turkiye in over a decade.
In addition, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi expressed his condolences to the Turkish earthquake victims during a phone call with his President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and promised humanitarian aid and assistance.
On 20 November, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shook hands with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on the sidelines of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Turkey’s state-owned Anadolu Agency reported that Erdogan briefly met with Sisi and other regional leaders, including King Abdullah of Jordan and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
In March 2021, Turkiye claimed to have resumed diplomatic relations at the level of intelligence and foreign ministries with Cairo; however, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry denied these claims at the time.