v + T – normal size
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who is visiting Cairo for the first time since the ties between the two countries were severed ten years ago, discussed with his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, the issue of restoring full diplomatic relations between the two countries, and they confirmed, during a press conference, yesterday, the solidity of the ground during the current time, to return to normal bilateral relations. While the two ministers announced “preparation for a summit” between the two presidents; The Turkish, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the Egyptian, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, to end a decade of estrangement between the two countries.
concrete steps
Cavusoglu expressed his country’s desire to “restore diplomatic relations between the two countries at the highest level.” He said, “I am very happy, because we have taken concrete steps to normalize relations with Egypt. We may disagree in the future, but we will do our best to avoid severing relations again.”
Cavusoglu talked about making up for lost time since relations at the ambassadorial level stopped in late 2013, and said: “There is a huge level of untapped potential, but unfortunately, we lost those nine years, and in order to bridge this nine-year gap, we have to work hard.” Larger”. He added that relations have eroded “due to the absence of dialogue and misunderstanding.”
political will
For his part, Shoukry affirmed the existence of “a political will of the presidents of the two countries… aimed at normalizing relations between them,” adding that there were “directives by the presidents of the two countries, when they met in Doha… to launch the path to reach the full normalization of relations after the developments of the past years.” . Meanwhile, Cavusoglu stressed that “after the Turkish elections, including the presidential elections next May 14, our president will meet with President Sisi.”
Shoukry said that talks with Turkey regarding the possibility of restoring relations to the ambassadorial level will take place “at the appropriate time.” He described the talks with his Turkish counterpart as “frank, in-depth and transparent.” Shoukry continued, “We are definitely looking forward. And we look at everything that can benefit the two countries.
In turn, the Turkish minister thanked Egypt for the assistance it provided to the victims of the earthquake disaster, noting that “relations with Egypt are historical, and we have a common culture that we seek to strengthen.”
Deep dialogue
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Ahmed Abu Zeid, said that the Turkish foreign minister met his Egyptian counterpart in Cairo to hold talks on “various aspects” of bilateral relations between the two countries.
He added that the two ministers also discussed regional and international issues of common concern, noting that the meetings aim to launch a “deep dialogue” to reach “a common understanding that achieves the interests of the two countries.”
It is noteworthy that Davutoğlu had received Shukri last February in Turkey, after the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey on February 6, killing thousands. While the Turkish and Egyptian leaders spoke, a day after the devastating earthquake.
commercial exchanges
On the commercial level, bilateral exchanges between Turkey and Egypt did not stop, but grew from about $4.4 billion in 2007 to $11.1 billion in 2020, according to the Carnegie Center for Research. Last year, Ankara was the first importer of Egyptian products with a value of $4 billion. dollar.