The Turkish Foreign Ministry has stated that the normalization of relations with Egypt has yielded positive results in Libya and Gaza. This comes alongside the first visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Cairo in 12 years.
In a press conference on Wednesday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgiç stated that “the results of normalization with Egypt have appeared in Libya and Gaza,” and that “bilateral cooperation will not have negative consequences, as Egypt and Turkey are two of the most important countries in the region,” according to Turkish media reports.
Bilgiç emphasized that Ankara attaches great importance to the security, stability, and prosperity of Libya, and indicated that the Turkish Consulate General in Benghazi will be opened soon.
President Erdoğan arrived in the Egyptian capital Cairo on Wednesday, marking his first visit to Egypt since 2012. During a joint press conference with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Erdoğan expressed his happiness to be in Cairo once again.
President el-Sisi stated that the two leaders stressed the need to strengthen consultation between the two countries on the Libyan file, with the aim of holding presidential and legislative elections and unifying the country’s military institution. He added that “our success in achieving security and political stability in Libya will be a model to follow, as the countries of the region are best able to understand its complexities and the ways to resolve the existing differences.”
El-Sisi also welcomed the current calm in the Eastern Mediterranean region, expressing hope to build on it and reach a settlement of the differences between the countries of the region, in order to cooperate and maximize the benefit from the available natural resources.
For his part, President Erdoğan said that he discussed issues such as Libya, Sudan, and Somalia during his meeting with el-Sisi, stating that “we fully support the unity and territorial integrity of these brotherly countries.”
It is worth noting that the Turkish and Egyptian presidents met last September on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi, India, where they agreed to “strengthen the bonds of relations and cooperation, upgrade diplomatic relations between the two countries, and exchange ambassadors.”
In May, the two presidents held a phone call during which President el-Sisi congratulated President Erdoğan on winning the Turkish presidential election. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry also visited Turkey in February to express solidarity with Ankara following the devastating earthquake that struck the country.
Erdogan and el-Sisi also met during the FIFA World Cup finals held in Qatar in 2022, after consultations between senior officials from the Turkish and Egyptian foreign ministries began in 2021.
