The Egyptian president visited Turkey for the first time in 12 years
Abdul Fattah Sisi, who organized a coup in 2013 and overthrew the legitimate government of Mohamed Morsi, came to Turkey after 12 years. Within the framework of this visit, issues of cooperation development in defense, energy, trade and other fields will be considered. The leaders of the two countries will exchange views on regional issues, including the Gaza Strip and attacks on the occupied Palestinian territories.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will visit Ankara at the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The first meeting of the high-level strategic cooperation council will be held in Ankara.
Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi arrived in Turkey on Wednesday, September 4. This is the first visit of the Egyptian leader to Turkey in 12 years of tense relations between the two countries first visit.
The heads of state will chair the meeting of the High Level Strategic Cooperation Council between Turkey and Egypt.
It is planned to increase the volume of trade between the two countries from the current 10 billion dollars to 15 billion dollars. According to the information of the Communications Department of the Turkish President's Administration, during the visit, all measures to be implemented to achieve this goal will be considered. Opportunities for long-term cooperation in the fields of energy, healthcare, tourism and defense industry will also be considered.
"As part of the visit, during the visit of our p resident to Cairo on February 14, 2024 , the High Level Strategic Cooperation Council reorganized in accordance with the Joint Declaration signed under the chairmanship of the presidents the first meeting will be held. At the meeting of the Council, all aspects of Turkey-Egypt relations will be discussed , as well as joint steps that can be taken for further development of bilateral cooperation in the coming period," said the statement of the Communications Department of the Turkish President's Administration.
The leaders of the two countries will also exchange views on current regional and global issues, especially Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip and the occupied Palestinian territories.
About 20 contracts in the fields of defense, energy, tourism, health, education and culture are expected to be signed at the meeting of the Turkey-Egypt High Level Strategic Cooperation Council.
Also, this visit is expected to further increase Turkey's investment in Egypt over 3 billion dollars. In particular, implementation of joint projects in the field of defense between Turkey and Egypt is on the agenda.
It is also planned to develop cooperation in energy, especially liquefied gas, atomic energy and renewable energy sectors .
It is noted that Egypt is in 19th place with 294 million dollars in total foreign direct investment of Turkey. Egypt has invested $45 million in direct foreign investment in Turkey. The steps taken during Sisi's visit are expected to help increase the share of direct investment between the two countries.
Last year, exports from Turkey to Egypt amounted to 3 billion dollars. In the same period, imports from Egypt amounted to 3.1 billion dollars, and foreign trade turnover between the two countries was 6.1 billion dollars.
During this period, the first place in Turkey's export to Egypt was occupied by heating boilers , machines , mechanical equipment , nuclear reactors, their spare parts and components , iron and steel, plastic and products made from them.
In the 7th month of 2024, the export to Egypt was 1 billion 904 million dollars, and the import from this country was 1 billion 911 million dollars.
Mustafa Denizer, the chairman of the Turkish-Egyptian businessmen's council under the Council of Foreign Economic Relations (DEIK), drew attention to the normalization of relations between the two countries about 1 year ago.
"Egypt is a strategic country that can become Turkey's second production base. It is our largest partner in North Africa. It is also one of the countries with the largest trade volume. In addition, it is the country where we still have our current account ," Denizer added.
Relations between Egypt and Turkey were strained in 2013 after Sisi staged a coup d'état that overthrew the legitimate government of Mohamed Morsi. Erdogan called Sisi a "murderer and dictator" several times. After the 2013 coup d'état in Egypt, Erdogan severed ties with Cairo. After a 12-year break, the process of restoring bilateral relations has begun.
