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How Does Erdogan’s Visit to Cairo Contribute to Developing Relations with Egypt?

Sisi and Erdogan meet on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. (dpa)
Sisi and Erdogan meet on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. (dpa)
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How Does Erdogan’s Visit to Cairo Contribute to Developing Relations with Egypt?

Sisi and Erdogan meet on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. (dpa)
Sisi and Erdogan meet on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. (dpa)

- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to arrive in Cairo on Wednesday to meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

The one-day visit is the first of its kind in more than 11 years and is seen as the beginning of a new page in relations between the two countries following a period of tensions.

The Cairo talks, according to a statement by the Turkish presidency, focus on “possible steps to be taken within the framework of developing relations between Turkiye and Egypt and activating high-level bilateral cooperation mechanisms.”

The two leaders will also exchange views “on current global and regional issues, especially the Israeli attacks on Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories,” the statement added.

The two countries have appointed ambassadors in July to restore their relations, after a diplomatic rupture that lasted for years against the backdrop of Ankara’s support for the Brotherhood organization, which is banned in Egypt, following the revolt of June 30, 2013.

Sisi and Erdogan shook hands during the opening of the World Cup in Qatar at the end of 2022. They later held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in September.

The visit comes at a crucial stage in the region, according to the head of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, Mohamed Al-Arabi, who told Asharq Al-Awsat that it is an important turn in the course of relations between the two countries after the long hiatus.

Turkish political analyst Jawad Gok noted that the visit is consistent with the radical changes in Ankara’s policy in recent years, which strengthens the Turkish-Arab partnership while adhering to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of Arab countries.

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In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Gok said that Erdogan’s trip to Cairo enjoys support from various political movements and media outlets, even those opposed to the president’s policies.

Karam Saeed, expert on Turkish affairs at the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, said the visit is part of the approach of circumventing controversial issues and taking relations to a “strategic level.”

He added that Cairo will support the strengthening of Turkish investments in the country, while Ankara has an opportunity to benefit from the Egyptian role in gas projects in the Eastern Mediterranean, or to expand its presence in Africa, in addition to cooperation in the field of defense and military industries in a way that serves the interests of the two countries.

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On Lebanon Border, Israel and Hezbollah’s Deadly Game of Patience

Smoke is seen as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is intercepted following its launch from Lebanon, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, at Kibbutz Eilon in northern Israel, July 23, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke is seen as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is intercepted following its launch from Lebanon, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, at Kibbutz Eilon in northern Israel, July 23, 2024. (Reuters)
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On Lebanon Border, Israel and Hezbollah’s Deadly Game of Patience

Smoke is seen as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is intercepted following its launch from Lebanon, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, at Kibbutz Eilon in northern Israel, July 23, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke is seen as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is intercepted following its launch from Lebanon, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, at Kibbutz Eilon in northern Israel, July 23, 2024. (Reuters)

In deserted villages and communities near the southern Lebanon border, Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters have watched each other for months, shifting and adapting in a battle for the upper hand while they wait to see if a full scale war will come.

Ever since the start of the Gaza war last October, the two sides have exchanged daily barrages of rockets, artillery, missile fire and air strikes in a standoff that has just stopped short of full-scale war.

Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border, and hopes that children may be able to return for the start of the new school year in September appear to have been dashed following an announcement by Israeli Education Minister Yoav Kisch on Tuesday that conditions would not allow it.

"The war is almost the same for the past nine months," Lieutenant Colonel Dotan, an Israeli officer, who could only be identified by his first name. "We have good days of hitting Hezbollah and bad days where they hit us. It's almost the same, all year, all the nine months."

As the summer approaches its peak, the smoke trails of drones and rockets in the sky have become a daily sight, with missiles regularly setting off brush fires in the thickly wooded hills along the border.

Israeli strikes have killed nearly 350 Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon and more than 100 civilians, including medics, children and journalists, while 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed.

Even so, as the cross border firing has continued, Israeli forces have been training for a possible offensive in Lebanon which would dramatically increase the risk of a wider regional war, potentially involving Iran and the United States.

That risk was underlined at the weekend when the Yemen-based Houthis, a militia which like Hezbollah is backed by Iran, sent a drone to Tel Aviv where it caused a blast that killed a man and prompted Israel to launch a retaliatory raid the next day.

Standing in his home kibbutz of Eilon, where only about 150 farmers and security guards remain from a normal population of 1,100, Lt. Colonet Dotan said the two sides have been testing each other for months, in a constantly evolving tactical battle.

"This war taught us patience," said Dotan. "In the Middle East, you need patience."

He said Israeli troops had seen an increasing use of Iranian drones, of a type frequently seen in Ukraine, as well as Russian-made Kornet anti tank missiles which were increasingly targeting houses as Israeli tank forces adapted their own tactics in response.

"Hezbollah is a fast-learning organization and they understood that UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) are the next big thing and so they went and bought and got trained in UAVs," he said.

Israel had responded by adapting its Iron Dome air defense system and focusing its own operations on weakening Hezbollah's organizational structure by attacking its experienced commanders, such as Ali Jaafar Maatuk, a field commander in the elite Radwan forces unit who was killed last week.

"So that's another weak point we found. We target them and we look for them on a daily basis," he said.

Even so, as the months have passed, the wait has not been easy for Israeli troops brought up in a doctrine of maneuver and rapid offensive operations.

"When you're on defense, you can't defeat the enemy. We understand that, we have no expectations," he said, "So we have to wait. It's a patience game."