Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who will pay his first official visit to Egypt in 12 years, has said his talks with “esteemed” Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi will focus on the development of bilateral relations and the ongoing Israeli war on the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
Erdoğan’s reference to Sisi, a former foe, as the “esteemed” president whom he in the past had referred to as a “coup maker” and “oppressor,” is a result of the normalization of ties between the two countries.
Erdoğan, who spoke following a Cabinet meeting at the presidential palace on Monday evening, said he and Sisi will discuss a number of bilateral issues including economy, commerce, tourism, energy and defense during his visit in addition to the increasing Israeli attacks on Gaza.
The president departed for the United Arab Emirates later on Monday to attend the World Governments Summit in Dubai from where he will travel to Egypt on Wednesday.
Turkey’s relations with Egypt were severely strained a decade ago, when el-Sisi, then Egypt’s defense minister, ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, an ally of Turkey and part of the Muslim Brotherhood movement.
At the time Erdoğan said he would never speak to “anyone” like Sisi, who in 2014 became president of the Arab world’s most populous nation.
Ankara has been trying to repair broken relations with el-Sisi since 2020.
The first signs of a thaw came in May 2021, when a Turkish delegation visited Egypt to discuss possible normalization.
In November 2022 Erdoğan and Sisi shook hands in Qatar in what the Egyptian presidency heralded as a new beginning in their relationship.
The two leaders then spoke by telephone after two devastating earthquakes hit Turkey in February 2023.
The normalization in relations was crowned by the two countries’ reciprocal appointment of ambassadors in July.
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.
Israel has expanded its operation in Gaza and carried out airstrikes on Monday as part of a major offensive in the densely crowded Rafah, killing dozens, according to health officials.
The Israeli war on Gaza war was sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, which resulted in the death of about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and the taking of more than 200 hostages.
Vowing to eliminate Hamas, Israel launched a massive military offensive in Gaza that the territory’s health ministry says has killed at least 28,064 people, mostly women and children.
Turkey accuses Israel of committing “genocide” and “war crimes” in Gaza.