Sisi, Erdogan discuss situation in Gaza, Libya, Sudan and Syria

Egypt-Turkish ties witness quantum leap over past years
 Cairo, Ankara stress need for urgent ceasefire, reject Israeli escalation in West Bank

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi arrived in Ankara on Wednesday , marking his first visit to Türkiye since assuming office in 2014.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed President Sisi at Esenboğa Airport.

Upon arrival, both leaders met briefly at the airport’s Hall of Honour before travelling together to the Turkish Presidential Complex in the same official vehicle.

President Sisi stressed that Egypt-Türkiye ties have witnessed a quantum leap over the past few years, and this was reflected in the growth of tourism movement and trade relations between the two countries as well as the increase in Turkish investments in Egypt, particularly in the field of manufacturing.

The president made this statement during his speech at the joint press conference with President Erdogan.

“Out of the sincere desire of the two countries to develop relations and to build on the results of President Erdogan’s visit to Egypt last February, President Erdogan and I were pleased to chair the first meeting of the high-level Strategic Co-operation Council between Egypt and Türkiye, which aims to achieve a qualitative shift in all fields, most notably trade, investment, tourism, transportation and agriculture,” President Sisi said.

The two presidents witnessed the signing of a number of memoranda of understanding that aim to establish a new institutional framework for co-operation between our two countries.

Our discussions also emphasised the importance of facilitating intra-trade and expanding the scope of the free trade agreement between Egypt and Türkiye with the aim of increasing trade to $15 billion in the coming five years, President Sisi said.

Discussions also focused on means to enhance investments between the two countries and granting possible facilitations to the Turkish businessmen, in light of the distinct investment climate in Egypt that enabled them to increase the scope of their business, sell their products in Egypt, and export.

President Sisi said that the current global and regional crises demonstrate the importance of close coordination and co-operation between Egypt and Türkiye.

From this standpoint, I discussed with President Erdoğan ways to coordinate our efforts to address the regional crises, primarily the dire humanitarian catastrophe endured by our Palestinian brothers in Gaza, in an unprecedented tragedy that has been ongoing for nearly a year, President Sisi said.

In this regard, I would like to underscore the shared and unified stance of both Egypt and Türkiye regarding the demand for an immediate and urgent ceasefire, rejecting the current Israeli escalation in the West Bank and call for launching a process that would fulfil the aspirations of the Palestinian people to establish their independent state, along the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of international legitimacy. This is in addition to our constant co-operation since the outbreak of the crisis to deliver humanitarian aid and relief into Gaza, despite the intransigent impediments imposed by Israel.

The president said, “We have exchanged views on the Libyan crisis and agreed to consult among our institutions in order to achieve security and political stability in Libya. We reiterated the need to close the chapter on this protracted crisis by holding simultaneous presidential and legislative elections, as well as the withdrawal of illegitimate foreign forces and mercenaries from the country, in order to end the phenomenon of armed militias, thus enabling Libya to overcome division and achieve lasting security and stability.”

We also discussed the situation in Syria and reiterated our commitment to finding a solution to this crisis, which has gravely affected the Syrian people in an unprecedented manner. We welcome, here, the efforts of rapprochement between Türkiye and Syria, as we ultimately aim to achieve a political solution and alleviate the suffering of the brotherly Syrian people, in line with the UN Security Council resolution on the matter, while maintaining the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Syrian State and eradicating terrorism, President Sisi said. 

Our talks also touched on the Sudanese crisis and Egypt’s efforts in this regard, in collaboration with various parties, to cease fire and promote a political solution. We also had a thorough discussion on the situation in the Horn of Africa, notably Somalia, and agreed on the crucial need to preserve the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia in the face of existing threats.