Iran Press/ Africa: According to Reuters, relations between Turkey and Egypt turned frosty in 2013 when the Egyptian military, then led by current President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, deposed democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi, a Muslim Brotherhood leader and an ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but have gradually thawed since 2021.
At a joint news conference with his Turkish counterpart, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said talks with Turkey on the possibility of restoring ties to the ambassadorial level would happen at "the appropriate time."
He said the talks had been "honest, deep and transparent".
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey would upgrade its diplomatic relations with Egypt to ambassador level "as soon as possible".
"I'm very glad that we are taking concrete steps for normalising relations with Egypt... We will do our best not to rupture our ties again in future," Cavusoglu said.
Last month, Shoukry visited Turkey in a show of solidarity after the massive earthquakes that killed more than 50,000 people in Turkey and Syria - the first visit to Turkey by Egypt's top diplomat since relations soured.
"There is a political will and directives from the presidents of both countries when they met in Doha ... to launch the path towards a full normalisation of relations," Shoukry said.
He was referring to a brief meeting between Sisi and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan at the Qatar World Cup where they shook hands.
Erdogan once called Sisi a "tyrant" after he led the overthrow of Mursi, who was an ally of the Turkish leader and his AK Party.
Consultations between senior foreign ministry officials in Ankara and Cairo began in 2021, amid a push by Turkey to ease tensions with Egypt, the UAE, Israel, and Saudi Arabia.
Turkish foreign minister's visit to Egypt on Saturday happened after an invitation by his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry. It is the first such trip in more than a decade.
The Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday that the two top diplomats will discuss all aspects of bilateral relations, as well as exchange views on regional and international matters.
For its part, the Egyptian foreign ministry said Cavusoglu’s visit “inaugurates path for restoring normal relations between the two countries”.
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