Egypt–Turkey relations

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey was ready to cooperate with Egypt to rebuild Gaza as he made his first visit to the country since 2012.

Erdogan and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi held a joint news conference on Wednesday in Cairo after bilateral talks, taking a big step toward rebuilding relations between the regional powers.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan made his first visit to Egypt since 2012 on Wednesday to meet President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, taking a big step toward rebuilding ties between the regional powers.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke over the phone with his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, on Dec. 20 to address the ongoing developments in Gaza and the broader Middle East.

The leaders deliberated on Israel's ongoing attacks on the Palestinian territories and the imperative of delivering humanitarian aid to the embattled region, as disclosed by Erdoğan's office.

Israel said Saturday that it was recalling its diplomats from Turkey over "increasingly harsh statements" coming from the government in Ankara.

The announcement came after Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, told a massive protest crowd in Istanbul that his government was preparing to declare Israel a "war criminal" due to its actions in the Gaza Strip. 

Egypt and Turkey have appointed ambassadors to each other's capitals for the first time in a decade to restore normal diplomatic relations, their foreign ministries announced on Tuesday.

Alamy Photo

Turkish and Egyptian top diplomats have elaborated on the further steps as part of the ongoing normalization of bilateral ties after the two counties' leaders agreed to exchange ambassadors after a decade of strained relations.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has announced that Turkish citizens who wish to travel to Egypt will now be able to obtain a visa on arrival without any process in advance.

"Our citizens who travel to Egypt will be able to obtain their visas from the Egyptian border gates from now on," said a ministry statement on May 2.

They highlight plans to supply Russia with artillery ammunition.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi reportedly ordered the production and shipment of the weapons, despite Egypt being one of America's closest allies in the Middle East.
According to leaked U.S. data, the secret delivery of 40,000 missiles to Russia is planned, the Washington Post writes.

Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad in Cairo on Saturday, a first since Syria's civil war broke out over a decade ago, Shoukry's office said.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was in Cairo on Saturday for the first time since ties were ruptured a decade ago to push to restore full diplomatic relations between the two countries.