Egypt and Türkiye are steadily stepping into a “new era” of cooperation and partnership, crowned by an exchange of high-level visits between the two countries following a decade-long hiatus.
On Sunday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan arrived in the Egyptian capital on a two-day visit aimed at improving relations between Ankara and Cairo.
On his arrival, the Turkish Minister toured the logistics warehouses of the Egyptian Red Crescent in El-Arish and the Rafah border crossing in North Sinai.
On Monday, Fidan is expected to hold talks with his Egyptian counterpart, Badr Abdelatty, who was appointed Foreign Minister last month.
During the meeting, the two Ministers are set to discuss bilateral relations as well as international and regional developments, mainly the war in Gaza, an Egyptian Foreign Ministry statement said.
“The visit will enhance the Egyptian-Turkish reconciliation,” experts told Asharq Al-Awsat.
It will also prepare for the summit in Ankara between President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as the two countries share common positions on the Palestinian cause and the importance of stopping the Gaza war.
During his Sunday visit to El-Arish, Fidan said that Türkiye and Egypt agree on the need to end the war in Gaza and establish peace in the region through a two-state solution.
Erdogan’s official visit to Egypt on Feb. 14 marked a milestone in bilateral ties.
During that visit, a joint declaration was signed on a High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council meeting co-chaired by the countries’ presidents.
Karam Saeed, expert on Turkish affairs at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, told Asharq Al-Awsat on Sunday that Fidan’s visit will focus on four main issues.
First, the visit aims to develop and strengthen bilateral relations, deepen reconciliation and implement nearly 20 agreements signed during Erdogan’s visit to Egypt.
Also, the visit of the Turkish FM should further enhance the common positions of both countries regarding their efforts to manage regional conflicts, specifically the Israeli war in the Gaza Strip and will tackle the future of the region.
Additionally, Fidan plans to discuss with Egyptian officials whether Ankara could play a role in mediating the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam crisis between Egypt and Ethiopia, especially since the Turkish Foreign Minister was on a visit to Addis Ababa before his arrival in Cairo.
According to Saeed, Fidan’s meetings in Cairo will also discuss preparations for a visit this month by Sisi to Türkiye, which will be the first of its kind for the Egyptian leader.
Turkish political analyst Taha Odeh Oglu said the visit is of “great importance.”
“It puts the two countries at a new stage of partnership, especially as it comes amid an Israeli-Iranian escalation in the region following last week’s assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, and the developments in Gaza and Lebanon,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
