Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi was welcomed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the capital Ankara on Wednesday. This is el-Sissi’s first visit as president to Türkiye.
Erdoğan was received at the airport by el-Sissi during his visit to Cairo in February. The Turkish president reciprocated the move and welcomed him at the Esenboğa Airport. The two men later headed to the Presidential Complex in the same vehicle. The leaders saluted honor guards at the Presidential Complex upon arrival.
“Today’s visit and President Erdoğan’s previous visit to Cairo reflect the will to initiate a new friendship and cooperation between the two countries,” el-Sissi said in his first message during his visit to Türkiye through the social media account of the Egyptian Presidency.
“I am very delighted with my first visit to the Republic of Türkiye and my meeting with His Excellency President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Our two ancient countries have maintained deep-rooted historical and popular relations, reinforced by robust political ties forged since the establishment of the Turkish republic by founding leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Perhaps my visit today, and earlier His Excellency President Erdoğan’s visit to Cairo, usher in a new chapter in the friendship and cooperation between Egypt and Türkiye, grounded in their pivotal roles in the region and internationally, and to fulfill the ambitions and aspirations of the two brotherly peoples,” he said.
Ankara and Cairo are expected to sign new cooperation deals during el-Sissi’s visit that will further mend ties that deteriorated about a decade ago.
Following their bilateral meeting, the two leaders were scheduled to co-chair the first meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council between the two countries and attend an agreement-signing ceremony that would be followed by a joint news conference.
El-Sissi’s visit to Türkiye comes at Erdoğan’s invitation. Erdoğan had visited Egypt in February and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had paid a separate visit to the country in August.
Relations between Ankara and Cairo hit a new low in 2013 after Egypt’s then-army chief, el-Sissi, led the ouster of Mohammed Morsi, the last Egyptian president to visit Türkiye in 2012.
The Presidency’s Directorate of Communications said ahead of el-Sissi’s visit that the two leaders would review bilateral relations in all aspects, as well as possible joint steps in the future. “There will be an exchange of views on current regional and global issues, especially the Israeli attacks on Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories,” the directorate said.
Ties between the two countries began thawing in 2020 when Ankara launched a diplomatic blitz to restore a relationship with various countries, from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Saudi Arabia. They mutually reappointed ambassadors in 2023.
The two leaders met on the sidelines of the G-20 leaders summit in September and held conversations over the phone, particularly on the latest round of the Palestine-Israel conflict that broke out on Oct. 7. Egypt is a leading actor in resolving the Palestine-Israel conflict and hosted talks with Hamas the day Erdoğan visited Cairo. It is also the only country with a safe border crossing for Gazans and delivery of humanitarian relief. Türkiye, currently the largest aid provider to the Palestinian enclave, has delivered its shipments through the Rafah crossing in cooperation with Egyptian authorities so far. Pundits have argued cooperation between the two countries could help push for steps to end Israel’s occupation policy and resolve the Palestinian issue.
Erdoğan often reiterates the need for Muslim unity to end Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip that have killed at least 40,000 Palestinians in the past 10 months.
Normalization could also lead to a breakthrough in the Eastern Mediterranean, where the region’s countries have overlapping claims on maritime borders and natural gas resources, notably with Greece and Libya. On the business side, Egypt and Türkiye were scheduled to sign some 20 bilateral agreements in fields from defense to energy, according to the media reports. The two sides are eyeing increasing the trade volume to $15 billion (TL 510.62 billion) from around $10 billion.
