Egypt’s president makes his first visit to Turkey as relations thaw

The presidents of Turkey and Egypt on Wednesday found common ground on the war in Gaza as they continued to mend long-strained relations, emphasising the need for a permanent ceasefire and guaranteed delivery of humanitarian aid.

Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi spoke during the Egyptian leader’s first official visit to Ankara after years of tensions between the regional powers.

“Turkey and Egypt have a common stance on the Palestinian issue,” Mr Erdogan said after he and Mr el-Sissi oversaw the signing of co-operation agreements.

“The end of the genocide that has been going on for 11 months, the establishment of a permanent ceasefire as soon as possible, and the unhindered flow of humanitarian aid continue to be our priorities.”

Relations between Egypt and Turkey, a long-time backer of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood group, soured a decade ago after the Egyptian military ousted President Mohammed Morsi, who hailed from the Brotherhood, amid mass protests against his divisive rule. Egypt also outlawed the group as a terrorist organisation.

In recent years, Ankara has stopped its criticism of Mr el-Sissi’s government, aiming to improve strained relations with Egypt and other Arab nations while seeking investments during an economic downturn. In November 2022, Mr Erdogan and Mr el-Sissi were photographed shaking hands at the World Cup in Qatar.

The Egyptian foreign minister then travelled to Turkey in 2023 to show solidarity after a deadly earthquake struck parts of southern Turkey and Syria.

“We should work together to prevent humanitarian crises, especially by addressing regional issues together,” Mr el-Sissi said. “We should work more intensively, especially with our brothers in Gaza and Palestine. In this context, both Turkey and Egypt emphasised that an urgent ceasefire should be established as soon as possible.”

Mr Erdogan, a vocal critic of Israel’s military actions, accused Israel’s government of “condemning” the people of Gaza to hunger and thirst.

“Israel and its supporters are responsible for every innocent person who dies from hunger, thirst or lack of medicine,” he said.

He also told reporters that Turkey wanted to co-operate with Egypt on natural gas and nuclear energy.

Mr Erdogan welcomed Mr el-Sissi at the steps of his airplane at the airport in Ankara, a gesture he rarely makes.

Mr el-Sissi said on Facebook that his trip to Turkey and Mr Erdogan’s February visit to Cairo “mirror the joint will to start a new era of friendship and cooperation between Egypt and Turkey”.

Egypt, together with Qatar and the United States, a key Israel ally, has been working for months to try and broker a ceasefire and the return of the remaining more than 100 hostages held by the Palestinian militant Hamas group. The negotiations have stalled following new Israeli demands.

Egypt opposes any Israeli presence along the Gaza side of its border, claiming it would threaten the decades-old peace treaty between the countries, a cornerstone of regional stability. Hamas had asked to have Turkey added as a guarantor in the ceasefire talks, but the proposal was not accepted.

The war began with Hamas’s October 7 assault on Israel in which the militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took around 250 hostages.