Honestly, what more than commercial agreements could we expect between Egypt and Turkey? And I am not downplaying at all with this suggestion that I just wrote, the visit that Egyptian President Al-Sisi made to Turkey on Wednesday, after a 13-year chill between the relations of the two states.
And yes, once upon a time, the economy and trade, especially during the Cold War, shaped the camps and alliances, and of course, there are countries, most notably China, that traditionally impose their imperial power through their economy. However, as scientists dealing with International Economics, International Trade, and International Economic Law argue, the International System is no longer bipolar but multipolar, which automatically indicates that the allied and corporate environment is a complex of multifactorial nature. Moreover, China does not simply sign Memoranda of Cooperation, but significantly bases its investment piece on regional institutional bodies and multilateral agreements.
Egypt and Turkey signed 17 Trade Memoranda in the fields of energy, education, road works, competition policy, labor, technology, and communications. However, we did not see any mutual defense agreement. In technology and communications, one might reasonably counter that there is a defense aspect by purchasing a series of defense system technologies. To be honest, neither a Turkish nor an Egyptian site eventually mentioned the purchase of Turkish drones. However, as is known, a defense agreement is an inter-state treaty that creates legal realities very different from the Memoranda of Cooperation.
And of course, since China was mentioned, let’s add to all of this (…food for thought) that again on Wednesday, Xi Jinping promised $50 billion in trade agreements for Africa.
Furthermore, based on the writings of Egyptian and Turkish sites, the issues discussed between Sisi and Erdoğan involved the vital issues that Egypt has in Africa (the Sahel, the Nile/Ethiopia dam, the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea) and that Turkey has naturally extended its political and military tentacles into.
Regarding the issue of the war in Israel, it is a fact that each state addresses it separately based on its vital interests, and as it turns out, they approach it very differently. At least, we understand this from what an Egyptian source stated on ahram.org: “We agree more with Qatar than with Turkey regarding how the war started and what the Palestinians could have avoided had Hamas not initiated its operation on October 7″… as we must not forget that Egypt considers Hamas a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. And also, a rhetorical question: Is it possible for Egypt to leave a political issue, such as the Palestinian one, on which it has invested its Modern and Contemporary History and Diplomacy, in the hands of Turkey?
Beyond that, the Prime Minister of Israel gave an interview to foreign correspondents on Wednesday, explaining why his military operational stance in this war is focusing on the geographic passage existing south of Gaza. We need to mention something because the misinformation propaganda regarding an alleged verbal attack by the Israeli Prime Minister against Egypt has, in recent days (as we saw from the reactions of Arab states), created a problem between two countries that undoubtedly have a common purpose and goal: combating terrorism, and I of course mean Israel and Egypt. Dermer, a close adviser to Netanyahu, after the latter’s interview, simply stated to a media network that “Netanyahu never questioned Egypt’s intentions in combating terrorism.” The Israeli advisor’s statement is very clear.
Based on Dermer’s position, but mainly Netanyahu’s, we must say something without burying our heads in the sand, that Egypt very well knows that there are pockets of extremism within it. At this given moment, the presence of Israeli troops in that specific geographical area is necessary because it simply protects both Israel and Egypt from terrorism. Israel is seeking security, and this has been evident from the statements of both the Prime Minister (regarding why he has deployed troops at the Philadelphi passage) and other Israeli political and military officials. On September 2, in a related article of mine (see here), I essentially pointed out what Netanyahu truly asked for yesterday: the involvement of the International Community to protect the existence not only of Israel but also of Egypt and Jordan. Egypt, under President Sisi, is a serious state, and once again it must prove how it perceives its existence and future in the broader region, ensuring first and foremost its internal establishment.
At this moment, Egypt must cooperate (without asterisks and reservations) with Israel to combat terrorism… It is a matter of vital interest…