Turkiye's Erdogan on first trip to Egypt in a decade

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan today made his first visit to Egypt since 2012 to meet President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, taking a big step toward rebuilding relations between the regional powers, Reuters reported.

Erdogan has said discussions would focus on Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip. The leaders, whose relations frayed over Egypt’s 2013 military coup during which Al-Sisi led a bloody takeover of the government and ousted the democratically elected Muslim Brotherhood, planned to hold a joint press conference later.

The visit caps diplomatic efforts in recent years to thaw the nations’ frosty relations. They mutually appointed ambassadors last year, and this month Turkiye said it would provide Egypt with armed drones.

Al-Sisi greeted Erdogan as he emerged from his plane in Cairo with his wife, Emine. According to a draft programme, Al-Sisi and Erdogan were to hold bilateral talks before a meeting between the two delegations, with a formal dinner planned.

Erdogan has sought to ease tensions with Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Israel since 2021 – though since October he has publicly condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Tel Aviv’s devastating war on Gaza.

Egypt, Israel, Qatar and the United States held inconclusive talks yesterday in search of a Gaza truce agreement. Cairo has made clear it will not allow an exodus of Palestinian refugees over its border with the shattered territory.

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