Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry confirmed on Saturday that the talks with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu addressed all issues of bilateral relations, regional situations and the challenges facing Egypt and Turkey.
Shoukry pointed out that there is a political will from the leaders of the two countries to reach a full normalization of relations between the two countries.
“The relations between Egypt and Turkey are extended and historical, and there is a solid ground for the return of relations to normal between the two countries” he added.
Shoukry said at a press conference with his Turkish counterpart that there is a common desire between Egypt and Turkey to strengthen economic and trade relations between the two countries.
He pointed out that the trade exchange between Cairo and Ankara reached $9bn during a period of time, and the volume of Turkish investments is estimated at 2.5 billion dollars.
He said there is interest and sponsorship on the part of Turkey to invest in Egypt and develop trade relations in various areas within the framework of trade exchange.
The talks touched upon the Palestinian issue and the situations in Syria, Libya and Iraq, as well as the normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, as well as the file of combating terrorism and joint cooperation between the two countries in particular.” Minister Shoukry explained.
The consultations also dealt with the Ukrainian-Russian crisis in depth and each party’s vision of the existing situation was put forward.
“We are looking forward to achieving what is needed in the interest of the people of Egypt and Turkey, ” he said, expressing hope for continued communication and coordination.
He pointed out that there is consensus and coordination with Turkey on several regional issues, noting that the talks were clear and transparent because of the importance of this relationship.
For his part, Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkish Foreign Minister said that as of now Ankara will take steps to normalize relations with Egypt, pointing to cooperation with Egypt on several regional issues.
He said that relations between the two countries have experienced a period of cooling, stressing that his visit to Cairo aims to strengthen and restore relations to return to a normal and strong track.
“When the tension marred relations between the two countries, Egypt was given priority for its sensitive role in many issues, both in the eastern Mediterranean and the Palestinian issue.” Turkish Foreign Minister said.
He noted that we are at the stage of assessing relations between the two countries, stressing that Cairo and Ankara seek to avoid tension inside the Al-Aqsa mosque during the holy month of Ramadan, explaining that there is a pledge between the two countries to strengthen efforts to work on this and remove obstacles.
Cavusoglu confirmed that the talks touched on the Ukrainian-Russian crisis and the efforts Turkey and Egypt can make to address the crisis, pointing to the impact of the war on Egypt and Turkey, warning of the crisis between the two sides to turn into a nuclear crisis, calling for an agreement between Ukraine and Russia to address the crisis, pointing out that the talks touched on the situation in Syria, Iraq and the fight against terrorism in the two countries.
“We discussed the development of the energy sector between the two countries and the strengthening of trade exchange, as well as the opening of talks and diplomatic tracks as before,” he added.
He pointed to his country’s participation in 3 military applications with Egypt in the coming period, explaining that strengthening and restoring relations will vary from politics to the education sector, and measures will be pushed towards this path.
Minister Cavusoglu pointed to the leading role of the two countries in many situations in the region, stressing the need for joint work in this aspect.
He stressed the need to take lessons from the long years of tension in relations between the two countries, stressing the need to make all possible efforts to normalize relations and not return to tension again.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that the coming period will witness the intensification of mutual visits between Egypt and Turkey.
Turkey will never forget these honorable positions of Egypt towards the disaster that befell Turkey” he said, pointing to President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s call with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the wake of the disaster.
The Turkish minister Mevlut Cavusoglu began an official visit to Cairo at the invitation of Sameh Shoukry, foreign minister, who had visited Turkey weeks ago following a devastating earthquake whose effects were catastrophic.
The two ministers held a bilateral discussion session, and then chaired a discussion session between the Egyptian and Turkish delegations, and various aspects of bilateral relations and international and regional issues of common interest were discussed.
