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Egypt media outlets told to cut back attacks on Turkey

October 14, 2020 at 4:11 pm

Newspapers are on sale at a book market at in Cairo, Egypt on 16 January 2019 [MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP/Getty Images]

A source in Egyptian state TV told the New Khaleej that authorities have issued new instructions to the media to water down criticism of Turkey.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added that the new strategy comes as Cairo and Ankara are coming to an understanding about the situation in Libya.

The new instructions, which were given verbally, not in writing, to various public and privately-owned media outlets, include reducing the criticisms and attacks on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

What’s the motive behind the Turkish rapprochement with Egypt?

Last August, Erdogan spoke of communication between the two countries’ intelligence bodies, adding that the Egyptians recently requested a meeting with Turkish diplomats to clear up the differences and misunderstandings between the two countries.

Although Cairo and Ankara downgraded diplomatic ties following the 2013 coup in Egypt, the two countries’ bilateral trade increased by 20 per cent in 2018, reaching $5.2 billion compared to $4.37 billion in 2017.

Following the 2013 coup, led by then-military chief Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi who is now the country’s president, Turkey criticised the ousting of Mohamed Morsi from the presidency. Morsi, who hailed from the Muslim Brotherhood group, was the country’s first democratically-elected civilian president.