Turkey’s Ambassador in Cairo Announces Normalization of Turkey-Egypt Relations
Turkey and Egypt are making strides towards normalizing diplomatic relations, according to Turkish Ambassador Şen during an interview with Saudi Arabian-based television channel, Eş-Şark lil-Ahbar. The two countries have re-established trust and are looking to cooperate in a variety of areas such as economy, tourism, and culture. With the complete recovery of diplomatic relations, trade volume is expected to increase to $20 billion in the medium term. Egypt hopes to see an increase in Turkish tourism with the facilitation of visas for Turkish citizens, which will triple the number of Turkish tourists visiting touristic cities such as Hurghada, Sharm el-Sheikh and Aswan. Turkish companies have invested approximately $2.5 billion in various fields for exports and the local market, with textile companies being the biggest exporters in Egypt. The two leaders are expected to meet within the next 3-6 months, with the location being either Ankara or Cairo. There is also no fundamental disagreement between Egypt and Turkey on the Demarcation of Maritime Jurisdiction issue, and progress is expected to be made in the upcoming period. These positive developments come after years of strained relations, starting with the overthrow of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi by a coup in 2013, leading to a reduction of Turkey-Egypt relations to the level of charge d’affaires.
