Turkish Foreign Minister Visits Egypt for the First Time in a Decade

The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Friday that Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu will visit Cairo tomorrow, Saturday, for talks with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry. The statement indicated that this visit marks the beginning of a path to restore normal relations between the two countries, making it the first of its kind after a period of tension lasting a decade. This will be the first time Ankara has sent its chief diplomat to Egypt since President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi led the ousting of Mohamed Morsi when he was army chief in July 2013. The visit follows two weeks after Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry's visit to Ankara, expressing solidarity with Turkey after the devastating earthquakes that resulted in the deaths of nearly 50,000 in Turkey and Syria. The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that "all aspects of bilateral relations will be discussed and views will be exchanged regarding regional and international issues." The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the visit concurrently with Turkey's statement.