Eastern Mediterranean, bilateral relations, and economy dominate the agenda of the presidents of the two countries
“The presence of President Al Sisi in Ankara demonstrates that President Erdoğan knows how to fight when there is a battle and does not hesitate to make peace when he wants to make peace,” comments the well-known analyst of the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, Abdulkadir Selvi, in his article today.
As Deutsche Welle points out, Selvi emphasizes that Erdoğan’s idea to restore Turkey’s previously troubled relations with countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and now Egypt, has yielded positive results. In fact, he sees the normalization of relations between Turkey and Egypt as a historical necessity: “While the steps of the Third World War are heard and our region is divided, Turkey and Egypt should sit side by side at the same table,” he writes in his article.
The Turkish and international press today speaks of a new page in bilateral relations. In the joint press conference on Wednesday, the president of Turkey stated that the two countries confirmed their willingness to improve their relations in every sector, including defense, health, energy, and the environment. President Sisi emphasized that his visit to Turkey paves the way for a new phase in economic and trade relations.
“Multidimensional relations”
Besides the agreement for a common stance in Gaza, Erdoğan and Al Sisi discussed regional issues such as the Eastern Mediterranean, Syria, Libya, Sudan, and the Horn of Africa. “We are determined to strengthen consultations with Egypt, with which we share similar positions and goals on many issues. We will collaborate more closely and promote our multidimensional relations with a mutually beneficial (kazan-kazan) approach,” stressed Erdoğan. The Egyptian president mentioned that he discussed with President Erdoğan the end of the civil war in Libya through the holding of presidential and parliamentary elections and the removal of foreign troops from its territory.
A total of 17 Memoranda of Cooperation were signed yesterday between Turkey and Egypt with the aim of increasing trade to 15 billion dollars from the 6.6 billion it was last year. Among other things, memoranda were signed for the creation of industrial parks, higher education and scientific research, telecommunications, funding for SMEs, the tourism sector, and energy. Analysts note that with this historic reconciliation, Turkey aims to participate in regional projects for the transportation of Egyptian natural gas to Europe. The Turkish president notably stated, “We are willing to enhance our energy cooperation with Egypt, especially in natural gas and nuclear energy.”
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Egypt Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Turkey Abdel Fattah Al Sisi