Erdogan, Sisi shake hands at World Cup opening ceremony in Qatar

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shakes hands with President of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as they attend reception hosted by Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the occasion of the opening ceremony of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. [Murat Kula – Anadolu Agency]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shook hands with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi for the first time on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar yesterday, according to the Turkish presidency.

An official in the Turkish presidency confirmed to AFP that this is the first meeting between the two presidents.

The photo, which was posted on the official Turkish presidency website, showed the two presidents – whose relationship has been estranged since Al-Sisi carried out a military coup and took over the presidency in Egypt in 2014 – shaking hands and smiling.

The two countries started political consultations at the level of senior officials in the two foreign ministries last year.

.Anadolu Agency reported that Erdogan shook hands with Al-Sisi and held brief talks with him and other leaders, including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah II.

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