(MENAFN- Daily News Egypt) Egypt's President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan chaired the first meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council between the two countries in the Turkish capital Ankara, as part of the two countries' sincere desire to enhance cooperation.
Al-Sisi arrived in Ankara on Wednesday, marking the first visit by an Egyptian president to Türkiye in 12 years, as relations between the two countries improve.
The Egyptian president said in a press conference with his Turkish counterpart,“Perhaps my visit today, and the visit of His Excellency President Erdogan to Cairo in February, reflect the common will to start a new phase of friendship and cooperation between Egypt and Türkiye, based on their pivotal role in their regional and international environment.”
Al-Sisi added that he discussed with Erdogan ways of coordination and working together to contribute to addressing regional crises, most notably addressing the humanitarian tragedy facing the Palestinians in Gaza. He stressed the unity of Egypt and Türkiye's positions regarding the demand for an immediate ceasefire, the rejection of the current Israeli escalation in the West Bank, and the call to start a path that achieves the aspirations of the Palestinian people to establish their independent state on the borders of 4 June 1967, with“East Jerusalem” as its capital.
“We also exchanged views on the Libyan crisis and agreed to consult between our institutions to achieve security and political stability in Libya, while stressing the importance of turning the page on this protracted crisis, by holding presidential and legislative elections simultaneously, the exit of illegal foreign forces and mercenaries from the country, and ending the phenomenon of armed militias, so that Libya can end the manifestations of division and achieve security and stability,” Al-Sisi said.
The meeting also discussed the situations in Syria, the Horn of Africa, and Sudan, and reviewed the efforts made by Egypt in cooperation with various concerned parties to reach a ceasefire and give priority to a political solution in Sudan.
For his part, Erdogan said:“We cooperate with Egypt in all sectors and continue to strengthen relations, and I am grateful to see the fruits of this cooperation.” He continued:“In our talks, we discussed regional issues and their solutions, most notably the situation in Gaza,” stressing that the priority now is to stop the massacres in the strip and reach a ceasefire.
The Turkish president visited Cairo last February, on his first visit to Egypt since 2012. During their meeting in Cairo, the Egyptian and Turkish presidents stressed their desire to open a new page in relations between the two countries. At the time, Al-Sisi said that Egypt would increase the value of economic cooperation with Türkiye to $15bn in the coming years.
After a period of deterioration following the overthrow of former President Mohamed Morsi in 2013, relations between Presidents Al-Sisi and Erdogan have witnessed a noticeable improvement for about two years, and the two countries have taken steps towards reconciliation, with their positions converging on many regional issues, especially the Israeli war on Gaza.
However, despite the political crisis in some years, trade relations between the two countries have remained good, as Türkiye was Egypt's fifth trading partner, while Cairo was Türkiye's first economic partner in Africa, and the past few years have witnessed mutual visits by officials and delegations from the two countries.
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