Egypt's Sisi Heads for Türkiye in First Presidential Visit in 12 Years

FILED - 18 October 2023, Egypt, Cairo: President of Egypt Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is pictured in Cairo. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa Pool/dpa
FILED - 18 October 2023, Egypt, Cairo: President of Egypt Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is pictured in Cairo. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa Pool/dpa
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Egypt's Sisi Heads for Türkiye in First Presidential Visit in 12 Years

FILED - 18 October 2023, Egypt, Cairo: President of Egypt Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is pictured in Cairo. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa Pool/dpa
FILED - 18 October 2023, Egypt, Cairo: President of Egypt Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is pictured in Cairo. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa Pool/dpa

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will hold talks with President Tayyip Erdogan in Türkiye on Wednesday in the first presidential level visit in 12 years amid a warming of long-frozen relations between the regional powers.
The visit comes after Erdogan traveled to Cairo in February, his first trip to Egypt since 2012, taking a major step toward rebuilding ties that were severely strained for a decade.
"Türkiye-Egypt relations will be reviewed in all their aspects and possible joint steps in the coming period to further develop cooperation will be discussed," the Turkish presidency's communications office said in a statement on Tuesday.
"In addition to bilateral relations, there will be an exchange of views on current regional and global issues, especially the Israeli attacks on Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories," it added.
Sisi was set to arrive in Ankara at 2 p.m. (1100 GMT), with a joint press conference scheduled for 5 p.m. (1400 GMT).
Relations between Ankara and Cairo collapsed in 2013 after Egypt's then-army chief Sisi led the ouster of the Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi.
Mursi visited Türkiye as president in 2012.
Ties between the two countries began improving in 2020 when Ankara launched a diplomatic charm offensive to ease tensions with its estranged regional rivals.
Türkiye and Egypt mutually reappointed ambassadors last year, and Ankara has said it would provide Cairo with armed drones. Erdogan said in Cairo that the countries wanted to boost trade to $15 billion in the short term from $10 billion.
Türkiye’a state-owned Anadolu news agency said the two countries would sign some 20 agreements to boost commercial ties and cooperate on energy, defense, tourism, health, culture and education. It said deepening cooperation on renewable energy and liquefied natural gas (LNG) was also planned.
Türkiye, which has condemned Israel for its war against Hamas in Gaza, has sent thousands of tons of aid to Egypt for Palestinians and praised Cairo's humanitarian efforts and role as negotiator in ceasefire talks.



Iran's Weakening Will Not Harm Iraq, Deputy Parliament Speaker Says

Mohsen al-Mandalawi, deputy speaker of Iraq’s parliament, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Baghdad, Iraq, January 18, 2025. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad
Mohsen al-Mandalawi, deputy speaker of Iraq’s parliament, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Baghdad, Iraq, January 18, 2025. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad
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Iran's Weakening Will Not Harm Iraq, Deputy Parliament Speaker Says

Mohsen al-Mandalawi, deputy speaker of Iraq’s parliament, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Baghdad, Iraq, January 18, 2025. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad
Mohsen al-Mandalawi, deputy speaker of Iraq’s parliament, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Baghdad, Iraq, January 18, 2025. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad

Iraq will not be negatively affected by the weakening of Iran's influence in the Middle East, Iraq's deputy parliament speaker said, with Baghdad looking to chart its own diplomatic path in the region and limit the power of armed groups.

Mohsen al-Mandalawi spoke to Reuters in a recent interview after seismic shifts in the Middle East that have seen Iran's armed allies in Gaza and Lebanon heavily degraded and Syria's President Bashar al-Assad overthrown by the opposition.

US President Donald Trump's new administration has promised to pile more pressure on Tehran, which has long backed a number of parties and an array of armed factions in Iraq.

Iraq, a rare ally of both Washington and Tehran, is trying to avoid upsetting its fragile stability and focus on rebuilding after years of war.

"Today, we have stability. Foreign companies are coming to Iraq," said Mandalawi, himself a businessman with interests in Iraqi hotels, hospitals and cash transfer services.

"Iraq has started to take on its natural role among Arab states. Iran is a neighbor with whom we have historical ties. Our geographical position and our relations with Arab states are separate matters," he said, speaking at his office in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, home to government institutions and foreign embassies.

"I don't think that the weakening of Iran will negatively impact Iraq."

Mandalawi is a member of Iraq's ruling Shi'ite Coordination Framework, a grouping of top politicians seen as having close ties with Iran, and heads the Asas coalition of lawmakers in parliament.

Iraq's balancing act between Tehran and Washington has been tested by Iran-backed Iraqi armed groups' attacks on Israel and on US troops in the country after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, 2023.

That has led to several rounds of tit-for-tat strikes that have since been contained.

During Trump's first 2017-2021 presidency, ties were tense after the US assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and top Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in Baghdad in 2020, leading to an Iranian ballistic missile attack on US forces in Iraq.