Erdogan: Turkish and Egyptian ministers to meet to build relations between the two countries

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said today that a process of building relations with Egypt will begin with the meeting of ministers of the two countries and that talks will develop from there.

After years of tensions between the two countries, Erdogan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi shook hands at the start of the World Cup in Qatar last weekwhich was translated as a statement by the Egyptian presidency for a new beginning in Turkish-Egyptian relations.

In a television broadcast filmed in Iconium province on Saturday, Erdogan said he spoke with al-Sisi for about half an hour to 45 minutes at their meeting in Qatar.

“We had closely focused talks with Sisi there and we said let’s now have ministers talking (…). After that, let’s expand these talks,” the Turkish president stressed, also signaling the possibility of improving relations with Ankara’s rival Syria.

“Just as this work is now well under way with Egypt, things may be well with Syria“, he said.

Ankara’s ties with Cairo have remained strained since Sisi, then Egypt’s army chief, led the 2013 ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi, who was strongly backed by Erdogan.

The two countries began consultations between top foreign ministry officials last year amid an effort by Turkey to reduce tensions with Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Israel and Saudi Arabia.