Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry mentioned today, Saturday, that "the Egyptian state is working to strengthen cooperation with Turkey to achieve stability in the region." During a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, Shoukry stated, "We aspire to enhance trade cooperation between the two countries to reach 15 billion dollars." He added, "We must seriously address the prevention of the ongoing displacement of Palestinians and work towards establishing an independent Palestinian state."
For his part, the Turkish Foreign Minister stated that he discussed the "dangerous situation" in Gaza and how to enhance humanitarian aid to the besieged sector by Israel with his Egyptian counterpart. He continued, "We discussed further actions we can take to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, and what can be done in the long term to reach a two-state solution." Commenting on the tensions between Iran and Israel, the Turkish Foreign Minister stated, "Our first priority should be to end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and achieve a two-state solution." He added, "We warn of the negative repercussions of the escalation between Israel and Iran. The world must act to grant Palestinians their rights."
Turkish diplomatic sources reported that Fidan and Shoukry discussed important regional issues, such as Gaza, Libya, the Eastern Mediterranean, Sudan, the Horn of Africa, and the Sahel, in addition to trade, economic matters, and bilateral investments. The Turkish diplomatic sources also indicated that the two ministers are expected to discuss preparations for the high-level meeting of the Strategic Cooperation Council between the two countries, which will be attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
