Ashraf AboArafe
Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid, the official spokesman and Director of the Public Diplomacy Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received, on Saturday, April 20, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Sameh Shoukry, in Istanbul, during his current visit to Turkey.
Minister Shoukry conveyed the sincere greetings of the President of the Republic to President Erdogan. He also praised the pace of high-level political visits between the two countries after restoring bilateral relations to their normal level after more than 10 years. These visits culminated in the visit of the Turkish President to Egypt on February 14, 2024, welcoming the results. That visit, the most notable of which was the signing of the declaration establishing a joint strategic cooperation council at the level of the presidents of the two countries.
For his part, President Erdogan was keen to convey his sincere greetings and appreciation to the President of the Republic, expressing his aspiration to receive His Excellency in Turkey as soon as possible. He also stressed the great importance that Egyptian-Turkish cooperation represents, whether in the bilateral framework to enhance aspects of joint cooperation at various levels and advance Egyptian-Turkish relations in their various aspects, or with regard to coordinating positions and continuous consultation in connection with various issues and files at the regional and international levels.
Ambassador Abu Zeid revealed that the Foreign Minister explained during the meeting that this visit comes within the framework of preparation for the visit of the President el-Sisi to Turkey, in response to the Turkish President’s invitation to hold the first meeting of the high-level strategic council between the two countries. He also stressed the importance that Egypt attaches to enhancing the volume of trade exchange between the two countries, which reached nearly 7 billion dollars in 2023, expressing the Egyptian side’s aspiration to reach the volume of mutual trade to 15 billion dollars during the next few years, as well as interest in working to continue enhancing investments. Turkish in Egypt.
The official spokesman added that the two sides exchanged views on a number of regional and international files, the most prominent of which was the raging crisis taking place in the Gaza Strip, and the associated serious humanitarian repercussions faced by the Palestinian brothers in the Strip, while emphasizing the necessity of reaching an immediate and permanent ceasefire. Allowing the entry of humanitarian aid without any obstacles, in addition to reiterating the warning against the consequences of undertaking any military operation in the Palestinian Rafah, as that step would have very serious consequences, in addition to the importance of continuing continuous coordination and joint work between Cairo and Ankara to prevent the expansion of the conflict in the region. . The Minister of Foreign Affairs praised the amount of humanitarian aid provided by Turkey to Palestine in cooperation with the relevant authorities from Egypt, stressing the importance of cooperation to achieve Palestinian reconciliation and resume the peace process, leading to the establishment of a viable Palestinian state living in peace in the region on the pre-June 5, 1967 borders with its capital. East Jerusalem.
The Foreign Ministry spokesman also explained that the two parties stressed the importance of coordination between Egypt and Turkey regarding the situation in Libya to implement international resolutions related to resolving the crisis, and they exchanged visions regarding developments related to the Syrian crisis, where the Foreign Minister referred to Egypt’s firm position on the Syrian crisis, which is based on the necessity of Reaching a political settlement in accordance with Resolution 2254, ensuring the achievement of Syria’s sovereignty, security and stability. During the meeting, Minister Shukri also reviewed the efforts made by Egypt to restore stability in Sudan to avoid the collapse of the state and its institutions, whether in a bilateral framework or within the framework of the path of neighboring countries or through coordination with all other regional and international initiatives to resolve the crisis, and he was keen to listen to the Turkish side’s vision of the developments in the situation. In Sudan, and its role in the Sudanese crisis efforts.
Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid added that Minister Shukri’s meeting with President Erdogan touched on the benefits that will accrue to the two countries with the increase in the pace of coordination between them regarding various African issues, as the discussion touched on the files of the Nile water and the Ethiopian dam, and the situation in the Horn of Africa, Somalia, the Sahel and the Sahara.
