Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi arrived in Ankara on Wednesday, 4 September, marking his first visit to Turkey since taking office in 2014. This is also the first visit by an Egyptian president to Turkey in 12 years.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan greeted Al-Sisi at Esenboğa Airport, where an official reception ceremony was held to welcome him upon his arrival.
This visit is part of a series of developments signaling a thaw in relations between the two countries. It follows Erdogan’s trip to Cairo in February, his first visit to Egypt since 2012.
In a statement on X platform, President Al-Sisi expressed his pleasure at visiting Turkey and meeting with President Erdogan. He hoped that his visit, along with Erdogan’s recent trip to Egypt in February, would signify both countries’ desire to embark on a new era of friendship and cooperation.
“I am very happy to visit Turkey for the first time as president and meet with His Excellency President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The visit reflects the common will to start a new phase of friendship and cooperation between Egypt and Turkey,” Sisi said on X platform.
Al-Sisi and Erdogan are set to co-chair the inaugural meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council, established by the Joint Declaration signed during Erdogan’s Cairo visit.
The Council meeting will review all aspects of Türkiye-Egypt relations and discuss joint measures to enhance bilateral cooperation in the near future, the Turkish Presidency said in a statement.
The inaugural meeting is anticipated to involve the signing of several memorandums of understanding in various areas of cooperation.
After a decade-long diplomatic rift following Mohamed Morsi’s 2013 ouster as Egypt’s president, cooperation between Egypt and Turkey has significantly deepened in the past two years.
During their first meeting in Cairo this year, the two leaders agreed to increase trade between the countries to USD 15 billion (EGP 727 billion) in the coming years, boost joint investments, and explore new areas of collaboration.
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