Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is expected to visit Egypt on February 14 for the first time in 12 years to discuss deepening bilateral trade and a maritime delimitation deal in the eastern Mediterranean, according to Reuters and Middle East Eye.
Ankara has been trying to repair broken relations with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi since 2020.
A handshake between the two heads of state in Qatar in 2022 brought about the normalization of their relations fairly quickly.
Both countries appointed an ambassador to each other’s capital in July. Erdoğan’s policies towards Egypt had led to a breakdown in relations, particularly his vocal protest against a military coup in 2013 that installed Sisi as head of state and the deadly military crackdown on pro-democracy protests.
Turkey still harbors Egyptian opposition figures but in recent years has pressured Egyptian opposition news outlets to move their headquarters outside Turkey to improve their relations with Sisi’s government.
Erdoğan is expected to discuss ways to deepen bilateral trade between the two countries as well as an agreement on demarcating energy lines in the eastern Mediterranean.
Ankara has also been working with Cairo since Hamas’s October 7 attack to persuade Israel and the Palestinian groups controlling the Gaza Strip to agree to a ceasefire.
Middle East Eye reported, citing sources in Ankara, that Erdoğan may be planning to visit the Rafah area to provide humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians as both Turkey and Egypt are coordinating relief efforts for over a million displaced Palestinians.
