‘Better together’: Presidents of Egypt, Turkey seek common ground in Ankara

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has concluded his archetypal sojourn to Turkey since helium took bureau successful 2014, successful what constitutes the adjacent measurement successful mending the ties betwixt the 2 countries aft his counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan made his archetypal sojourn to Egypt since 2014 successful February.

The 2 presidents besides headed the archetypal gathering of the Egyptian-Turkish Strategic Cooperation Council connected Wednesday.

In a 36-point declaration, the assembly outlined the fields successful which the 2 countries mean to cooperate, 1 twelvemonth earlier the centenary of diplomatic relations betwixt them.

Among them was an undertaking to “promote economical and commercialized relations … to summation their commercialized volume” to $15bn, a tripling of the existent yearly commercialized volume.

‘Joint stand’

In a associated quality league aft the visit, Erdogan and el-Sisi expressed their volition to deepen relations and practice connected a fig of determination governmental issues.

Ministers from some countries signed 18 memorandums of knowing connected practice successful fields from vigor and agriculture to education, tourism and transport, with Erdogan saying helium aimed to deepen practice with Egypt connected atomic vigor and earthy gas.

Some observers accidental determination was treatment of Turkey selling drones to Egypt, but thing authoritative was communicated successful this regard, different than an nonfiction successful the declaration that pledged “expanding contacts successful divers fields, including military, security, and consular affairs”.

Politically, the 2 leaders spoke of cooperating successful dealing with Israel’s warfare connected Gaza.

“I reiterate the associated basal of Egypt and Turkey calling for an contiguous ceasefire, rejecting further escalation by Israel successful the occupied West Bank,” el-Sisi said.

Analyst Erdogan Aykac, who specialises successful Turkish authorities astatine the Netherlands’ University of Groningen, believes some Turkey and Egypt consciousness they are losing their grip connected the concern successful Gaza, and privation to enactment unneurotic to summation their influence.

El-Sisi besides mentioned the volition to enactment unneurotic to resoluteness the struggle successful Libya, the contented of state exploration rights successful the Eastern Mediterranean and the civilian warfare successful Sudan.

He added that Turkey and Egypt agreed connected the necessity to support the unity of Somalia, successful notation to Somaliland’s secessionist aims.

Turkey has an important basal successful Somalia, portion Egypt announced a woody past week to nonstop arms to Somalia to antagonistic Ethiopia’s power successful the Horn of Africa.

The rift

Such a quality league would person been unthinkable 5 years ago.

A rift that started successful 2013 showed the archetypal motion of mending erstwhile photos were shared astir the satellite of the “landmark handshake” betwixt Erdogan and el-Sisi astatine the 2022 FIFA World Cup successful Qatar.

The ‘landmark handshake’ betwixt el-Sisi, left, and Erdogan, right, astatine the 2022 FIFA World Cup successful Qatar arsenic Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani looks connected [Handout/Press Office of the Presidency of Turkey via AFP]

From the Turkish side, the rapprochement stemmed from a wide displacement successful overseas argumentation from 2020-21 onwards. For Egypt, rapprochement came aft reconciliation with Turkey’s state Qatar successful aboriginal 2021, its suffering system possibly, making it much unfastened to opportunity.

Relations had soured aft then-General el-Sisi ousted precocious President Mohamed Morsi successful a fashionable coup successful 2013 and started a crackdown connected Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood.

Erdogan became 1 of the fiercest critics of el-Sisi’s powerfulness grab, saying helium would ne'er recognise him arsenic Egypt’s morganatic leader.

In Egypt, Turkey was seen arsenic 1 of its main enemies arsenic a protagonist of the Muslim Brotherhood, which was being designated a violent organisation. Both countries expelled each other’s ambassadors and relations were downgraded.

Many Egyptian Islamist absorption members recovered refuge successful Turkey, from wherever they operated captious tv channels, which often magnified calls for protests successful Egypt against el-Sisi.

In return, Egyptian media cheered the coup effort successful Turkey successful 2016 and deplored its failure.

Other issues emerged implicit the years. One was Turkey’s volition to drill for earthy state successful waters adjacent Cyprus successful 2019. Egypt was eyeing its ain agreements with Cyprus to payment from its offshore state reserves.

In Libya’s conflict, Egypt and Turkey supported other sides.

Tensions were astatine their highest successful aboriginal 2020 erstwhile Turkey-backed troops successful Libya precocious eastwards from the capital, Tripoli. El-Sisi declared a reddish enactment beyond which helium would not let the Turkey-backed troops to advance.

For a little moment, determination was fearfulness Egypt would participate into a confrontation with Turkey successful Libya but the beforehand stopped astatine the metropolis of Sirte, el-Sisi’s reddish line.

A softening

From that moment, tensions betwixt Egypt and Turkey started to easiness gradually.

Prior to that, Turkey’s determination relation was geared towards hard powerfulness centred astir its determination interests, explained Aykac.

It intervened militarily successful conflicts specified arsenic successful Syria and the usage and transportation of Turkish drones successful different determination conflicts, specified arsenic successful Libya, Ethiopia and Azerbaijan.

Isolated arsenic a effect of these policies and facing interior unit arsenic its system suffered, Turkey decided to alteration tactics, Aykac said.

Then-Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, left, visited his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, successful Cairo connected March 18, 2023 [Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters]

Turkey reversed people successful 2020-21, hoping that a instrumentality to focusing connected being an important determination histrion who could relation arsenic a span and mediator would payment it.

Soft power, commercialized and diplomacy were astatine the halfway of this policy, and it sought determination rapprochements, changing “from a rigid, unilateral overseas argumentation to a much fluid 1 focused connected cooperation”, according to Aykac.

In 2021, Turkey ordered Arabic channels operating successful the state to code down their disapproval of el-Sisi, Egyptian absorption fig Ayman Nour said astatine the time.

In aboriginal 2023, 50 Egyptians successful Turkey were arrested nether the pretext of clamping down connected overseas nationals without visas.

Egyptian media and commentators said Egyptian absorption figures were among those arrested, and considered it portion of the rapprochement.

In July 2023, Egypt and Turkey restored ties and reappointed ambassadors to each other’s capitals, expressing their hopes that this would beryllium the commencement of a beneficial caller section betwixt them.