Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a former foe, to wish him success following his re-election to the top state post for a third time, the Presidential Communications Directorate announced.
Cumhurbaşkanımız Sayın Recep Tayyip Edoğan, Mısır Cumhurbaşkanı Abdülfettah es-Sisi ile bir telefon görüşmesi gerçekleştirdi.
Görüşmede İsrail’in Filistin topraklarındaki saldırıları ve Gazze’ye insani yardım ulaştırma gayretleri ele alındı.
Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan görüşmede,…
— T.C. İletişim Başkanlığı (@iletisim) December 20, 2023
Al-Sisi, a former army chief who came to power about a decade ago after leading the overthrow of elected president Mohamed Morsi, was guaranteed another term in the absence of a serious challenger last week and despite growing economic woes in the country. He won landslide victories of 97 percent of the vote in the 2014 and 2018 elections.
Erdoğan wished al-Sisi success in his new term and said he hopes it will help the development of bilateral relations between Egypt and Turkey, according to the communications directorate.
The two leaders also discussed ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza and efforts to take humanitarian aid to the people of the Palestinian enclave, the directorate said.
Erdoğan and al-Sisi, who had been sparring since the overthrow of Morsi, personally backed by Erdoğan, met in November in Qatar for the first time during the opening ceremony of the World Cup.
Their picture showed a sincere handshake between the two leaders.
They also held face-to-face talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi in October.
Erdoğan was criticized by opposition parties at home for his change of stance on al-Sisi given the fact that he said in early 2019 that he wouldn’t meet with al-Sisi until Egypt’s political prisoners –- 65,000 people, according to human rights groups — had been released.
The opposition interpreted it as a strategic move by the Turkish president ahead of the presidential and parliamentary elections, which were held in May, resulting Erdoğan and his party’s victory.
The countries in summer appointed ambassadors for the first time in a decade in the latest sign of warming ties.
Disagreements remain since Turkey is home to many Arab journalists and dissidents critical of their governments, in particular Egyptians close to the Muslim Brotherhood, which Cairo has outlawed.