Turkey’s Foreign Minister Visits Egypt in Bid To Mend Ties

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu visited Cairo on Saturday for talks with Egyptian officials in an attempt to mend their frayed ties after years of tension. Çavuşoğlu arrived in the Egyptian capital early Saturday, becoming the highest-ranking Turkish official to visit the Arab world’s most populous nation in over a decade. The two countries have been at odds since 2013, when the Egyptian military ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, who was supported by Turkey’s Muslim Brotherhood group, designated as a terrorist organization by Egypt.

During their meeting, Çavuşoğlu and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry discussed “various aspects” of bilateral relations and found common ground to relaunch political and economic relations. The talks were described as in-depth, transparent, and forthright. Çavuşoğlu spoke about making up for time lost since ambassador-level relations ended in late 2013 and suggested the possibility of an official meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt after Turkey’s May elections.

Turkey has abandoned its critical approach toward the Egyptian leader, who as defense minister led the military’s overthrow of Morsi in 2013. The two countries have collided in other areas, including Libya, where they back opposing sides, and the Eastern Mediterranean. Such confrontations nearly led to a direct clash between the two US allies in 2020. Saturday’s visit was the first to Cairo by a Turkish chief diplomat since 2012. Shoukry and Çavuşoğlu met last month when the Egyptian foreign minister visited quake-hit Turkey and Syria to show solidarity with the two nations.