Ankara and Cairo agreed to maximize the diplomatic relations that were stalled after the 2013 military coup in Egypt, according to Türkiye’s foreign minister.
“We agreed to maximize our diplomatic relations. We have evaluated what steps we will take in the next process. I invited him (Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry) to Ankara. I said that I wanted to host him, especially during the month of Ramadan,” Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters.
Cavusoglu’s remarks came after he met with Shoukry in the capital Cairo on Saturday, where the two ministers discussed bilateral relations and regional and international issues.
Diplomatic relations between Türkiye and Egypt have been at the level of charges d’affaires on both sides since Egypt’s 2013 military coup which overthrew the late President Mohammed Morsi.
FM Cavusoglu’s visit to Cairo
Cavusoglu is the first foreign minister to visit Egypt from Türkiye in 11 years.
About the appointment of ambassadors, Cavusoglu said it was previously planned that if Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi got together, they would announce it.
“We were expecting the highest level of the announcement. If the (president’s) meeting is delayed after the election (in Türkiye), we will consult again. We will decide on this soon. But we have already announced at the news conference that we have started this process,” he added.
After the Feb. 6 quakes in Türkiye, Shoukry visited the quake-hit Adana and Mersin provinces, and his visit to Türkiye was the first by an Egyptian foreign minister in more than a decade.
Meanwhile, al-Sisi was among the leaders who made a phone call with Erdogan following the earthquakes, offering his condolences to the quake victims.