Egypt and Turkey took another step today, Saturday, toward repairing their relations as Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu visited Cairo for the first time since the diplomatic ties between the two countries were severed a decade ago, and he held talks with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shukry. Relations soured significantly in 2013 after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi led the ousting of former President Mohamed Morsi while he was the head of the army, but they have gradually improved since 2021.
During a joint press conference with Çavuşoğlu, Shukry stated that talks with Turkey regarding the possibility of restoring relations to the ambassadorial level would be conducted "at the appropriate time." He added that the discussions were "frank, in-depth, and transparent." Çavuşoğlu indicated that his country would elevate its relations with Egypt to the ambassadorial level "as soon as possible." He expressed, "I am very happy that we have taken concrete steps to normalize relations with Egypt... We will do our utmost to ensure that relations between us are not severed again in the future."
The United States welcomed the visit, with White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan tweeting that it was "an important step toward a more stable and prosperous region." Shukry had visited Turkey last month in solidarity after devastating earthquakes that claimed more than 50,000 lives in Turkey and Syria, marking the first visit by a senior Egyptian diplomat to Turkey since relations were cut.
Shukry remarked, "There is certainly political will and direction from the presidents of both countries when they met in Doha... to launch the path towards the full normalization of relations after the developments of recent years." He referred to a handshake and a brief meeting between el-Sisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during the World Cup in Qatar last year. Erdoğan had previously referred to el-Sisi as a "tyrant" after the ousting of Morsi, who was an ally of Erdoğan and the Justice and Development Party, which has Islamic roots.
High-level consultations between the foreign ministries of Turkey and Egypt began in 2021 amid Turkish efforts to ease tensions with Egypt, the UAE, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. As part of this initial reconciliation, Ankara requested that opposition television channels in Turkey reduce their criticisms of Egypt. Morsi was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood and died in prison in 2019, with other prominent members either imprisoned or having fled abroad. The group remains banned.
Turkey and Egypt have had differing positions in recent years regarding maritime boundaries in the gas-rich Eastern Mediterranean region. The Egyptian government is striving to combat severe foreign currency shortages and mentioned last month that Turkish companies had pledged new investments in Egypt worth $500 million.
