Restoring ties with Egypt seen as a key step in Turkiye's regional detente push

ANKARA — After a decade of political tensions and diplomatic rupture, Turkiye and Egypt are pushing their bilateral ties forward, a move that represents a key step in Ankara's reconciliation with regional countries, experts said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu met with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry on Saturday for talks in Cairo on a one-day official visit to Egypt upon Shoukry's invitation, the first such meeting between the two countries in 11 years.

During a joint news conference, Cavusoglu said Ankara and Cairo were to raise diplomatic relations to ambassador level "as soon as possible".

This development is the culmination of several rounds of diplomatic talks over the past two years. Bilateral ties had turned sour since late 2013 when the two countries expelled each other's ambassadors after former Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi was ousted in July that year and his Turkiye-backed Muslim Brotherhood group was outlawed.

In wake of the deadly earthquakes in southeastern Turkiye in early February, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi extended his condolences to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the phone, and Egypt sent aid to the ravaged region.

'Crowning jewel'

"The normalization process with Egypt is essentially the crowning jewel of Turkiye's recent normalization paradigm," Batu Coskun, an independent political risk analyst in Ankara, told Xinhua News Agency.

"Diplomatically, Ankara's branching out to Cairo signifies an important step in reconciling with the Arab world generally," Coskun said, adding that Ankara has recalibrated its foreign policy after years of trouble and strife with regional rivals, having successfully pushed for normalization with Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Israel.

Foreign policy analyst Serkan Demirtas said reconciliation between regional powers Turkiye and Egypt may "also contribute to the de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East in general".

Facing a tough campaign for reelection in May, Erdogan, an incumbent candidate, is seeking to use diplomatic detente to bolster his chances, as Turkiye's economic woes, represented by high inflation and a weak currency, have made the race all the more challenging for him, observers said.

Economic concerns are seen as a driving force for the rapprochement as trade and business have continued over the past few years between Ankara and Cairo despite their frosty relationship.

"A detente between Cairo and Ankara is certainly a desirable situation for both countries. Both Egypt and Turkiye are facing economic pressures. The restoration of bilateral ties should increase the volume of trade and commerce," Coskun said.

Last year, the volume of bilateral trade reached $7.7 billion, a 14-percent increase compared with 2021, according to the Turkish Ministry of Trade.

Xinhua