Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be received for the first time this Wednesday in Cairo by his counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, after a decade of virtual breakdown in Turkish-Egyptian relations. On the menu of their exchanges: bilateral relations, but also burning regional issues such as the war in Gaza, on which the two countries have a close position.
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With our correspondent in Istanbul, Anne Andlauer
Five years ago, Recep Tayyip Erdogan swore to “never” meet Abdel Fattah al-Sissi. He called it “ putschist ” and of ” tyrant » for having overturned, in 2013, President Mohamed Morsifrom the Muslim Brotherhood.
Extreme pragmatism
This visit to Cairo once again demonstrates his extreme pragmatism. The Turkish president now believes that to influence the balance in the Mediterranean and the Middle East, the Türkiye must cooperate with theEgypt. In the eastern Mediterranean, it wants to sign a maritime delimitation agreement with Cairo, which would strengthen its position in its disputes with Greece and Cyprus. It hopes to advance its pawns in gas projects over which Egypt enjoys great influence. Ankara is also thinking of Libya, where it says it wants to work with Cairo on a political solution.
The economy first
There are also economic interests: undermined by inflation, the Turkish economy needs to export to replenish its foreign currency reserves. Despite a decade of estrangement, Egypt remains its main trading partner in Africa. Trading volume has doubled since the reconciliation process began in 2020.
To seal the reconciliation, Turkey has just agreed to the sale of combat drones to Egypt.
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